Newsinc24 Team 
The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday formally declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. This move could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore sanctions on Tehran later this year. Iran reacted, saying it would establish a new enrichment facility “in a secure location” and that “other measures are also being planned".“The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said in a joint statement. Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board, which represents the agency’s member nations, voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, 11 abstained and two did not vote.
In the draft resolution seen by The Associated Press, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers “without delay” in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei criticized what he called the “instrumental use” of the IAEA Board of Governors by the United States, France, the UK, and Germany to cast doubt on the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. In a statement issued Thursday, Baghaei condemned the resolution passed earlier in the day as “baseless, unjust, and politically motivated.”
Iran will establish a third secure uranium enrichment facility and fully upgrade its Fordow site with advanced centrifuges, a senior nuclear official said Thursday, outlining key countermeasures following the IAEA Board of Governors' censure of Tehran’s nuclear activities. Atomic Energy Organization spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said the newly authorized site will be designed with “very high security standards” and become Iran’s third enrichment complex. He added that first-generation centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment plant will be completely replaced with IR-6 machines, a move expected to “significantly increase Iran’s enriched uranium production capacity.”
