The Arak Heavy Water Reactor—a facility under comprehensive IAEA safeguards and under construction in strict accordance with the technical specifications agreed upon in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to eliminate any proliferation risk—was bombed yesterday in broad daylight by the Israeli regime.
As the Security Council convenes today, it is imperative that it upholds and enforces its own Resolution 487-adopted unanimously in response to the Israeli regime's 1981 attack on Iraq’s nuclear facility.
The language in that resolution is unambiguous: any military attack on nuclear facilities is an assault on the entire IAEA safeguards regime and ultimately the NPT. It applies not only to past actions but also to future conduct, setting a clear legal standard against the use or threat of force targeting safeguarded nuclear installations.
If the Council now fails to act, it must explain to the international community why its legal principles apply only selectively on such a crucial matter. It will also hold ultimate responsibility, along with the Israeli regime, should the global nonproliferation regime one day collapse.