Britain has told the United Nations that Iran has attempted to buy uranium enrichment technology on the black market, according to a new report.
According to
The Guardian, if the report is confirmed, it would amount to a breach of UN Security Council resolutions which would trigger sanctions.
"The UK government informed the panel on 20 April 2015 that it 'is aware of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network which has been associated with Iran's Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA) and Kalay Electric Company (KEC),' " said an annual report by a UN panel of experts responsible for monitoring compliance with the sanctions regime, according to The Guardian.
Observers say that if confirmed it would not likely derail the nuclear agreement being negotiated between Iran and the six world powers, but under the agreement there are strict limits on uranium enrichment as a condition of lifting sanctions.
Specifically, KEC is under Security Council sanctions and TESA is under American and European sanctions because they are believed to be involved in developing centrifuges for a uranium enrichment program that is not permitted by the UN.
"It's no surprise that Iran has continued procurement efforts for its nuclear program. The Iranian leadership freely admits it," Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on nuclear proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Guardian.
"But this has little bearing on Iran's trustworthiness to abide by a deal that limits its program. It would feel an obligation to abide by limits to which it agrees, as opposed to UN Security Council resolutions which it argues were unjustly imposed on it."
According to the provisional nuclear deal, Iran would accept a 70 percent cut in its uranium enrichment capacity and a reduction in its stockpile of low-enriched uranium of up to 97 percent in return for relief from sanctions, The Guardian reported.
"The key implication of this news is that it shows the need for new rules to regulate Iranian nuclear procurement consistent with the limits in the forthcoming comprehensive agreement," Fitzpatrick said.
"A replacement Security Council resolution will need to keep limits on procurement and to establish a tight monitoring mechanism."
The nuclear agreement with Iran is due to be finalized by June 30. Congress is expected to pass
bipartisan legislation that would give it the power to review any deal and potentially block sanctions relief.