The Islamic Republic of Iran announced Thursday that it plans to begin operations at a third uranium enrichment site after the U.N. agency tasked with oversight of its nuclear stockpiles found the regime in non-compliance for the first time. Tellingly, this previously undisclosed third enrichment site is already built, despite Iran’s obligations to give advanced notice of any plans for new nuclear facilities.

In a lopsided vote, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) 35-nation board approved a resolution finding Iran in non-compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — the first time the IAEA has passed a resolution against a country in 20 years. The board voted 19-3 (Russia, China, and Burkina Faso voted against it), while 11 countries abstained and two did not vote.

Four nations, the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany, jointly submitted the resolution after two IAEA reports released on May 31 painted a disturbing picture of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. A quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear stockpiles revealed that the regime had increased its supply of enriched uranium by nearly 50% since February, and by more than double since August 2024. According to the report, Iran has 900 pounds of enriched uranium, which could be further enriched to weapons-grade and converted into 10 nuclear weapons in a matter of days.

In a second report, IAEA investigators found Iran uncooperative with its oversight, particularly by refusing to provide satisfactory answers about nuclear material found at three undeclared sites.

Shortly after the IAEA’s vote of censure, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization reacted furiously in a joint statement, vowing to “respond to this political resolution,” that they said “completely called into question the credibility and prestige” of the IAEA.

But Iran’s immediate actions actually called into question the credibility of this very protestation. Iran announced that it had already built a third nuclear enrichment facility and plans to begin enriching uranium there as soon as it finished installing the centrifuges. Mohammad Eslami, Iranian vice president and head of the Atomic Energy Organization, described the third site as “already built, prepared, and located in a secure and invulnerable place.” Since IAEA rules require Iran to give them advanced notice of any plans to build nuclear sites, this announcement is an open admission that Iran has not been complying with IAEA inspectors for years.

Iran currently has two enrichment sites, one underground at Natanz and another deep in a mountainside at Fordow. The underground locations are designed to protect the sites against possible airstrikes. Experts think the third secret site may be underground, also at Natanz. Iran kept the Fordow site a secret until Western officials revealed it in 2009. Iran also announced plans to update the Fordow centrifuges to “significantly increase” its production of enriched uranium.

The IAEA censure resolution opens Iran up to possibly crippling sanctions from the U.N. Security Council (above and beyond current U.S. sanctions), although the resolution did not immediately call for such sanctions. The sanctions were lifted as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but European diplomats say they plan to renew the sanctions this year unless Iran reverses course.

Iran said that, if the U.N. reimposed sanctions, it would kick out inspectors and leave the NPT. Effective in 1970, the NPT allows only five countries in the world to have nuclear weapons — the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, and China.

Only four countries in the world never joined the NPT: India, Pakistan, Israel, and South Sudan. Of these, India and Pakistan have declared nuclear arsenals, Israel maintains a suspected nuclear arsenal, and South Sudan is too new (it achieved independence in 2011) and too poor (with an annual GDP under $10 billion, less than the cost of a single nuclear reactor) for the treaty to be relevant.

Currently, North Korea holds the dubious distinction as the only country to withdraw from the NPT, which it did after constructing its first nuclear weapon. If Iran followed through on its threat, it would become the second country to withdraw from the NPT. If it followed the historical pattern, its withdrawal from the treaty would likely correspond to its production of its own nuclear weapons.

The IAEA notes that Iran is the only nation without nuclear weapons that enriches uranium to 60%, a level far beyond what is required for civilian nuclear purposes.

Despite the diplomatic fallout from the IAEA verdict and Iran’s bellicose reply, the U.S. and Iran still plan to attend a sixth round of talks on Sunday. In accordance with his government’s sour refrain, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi poured cold water on the prospect for success in the talks beforehand, saying that “the censure added complexity to already-delicate negotiations,” as paraphrased in The New York Times.

The talks have foundered on the basic impasse that Iran refuses to give up the capabilities for making a nuclear weapon, while the U.S. refuses any deal under which they can keep the capabilities. Iran is happy to let the fruitless talks continue without resolution until their race to a nuclear weapon is completed.

Nevertheless, President Donald Trump still holds out a narrow hope that an agreement can be reached. On this basis, he has repeatedly urged Israel against carrying out a long-prepared strike against Iran, noting, “As long as I think there is a (chance for an) agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think it would blow it.”

It certainly would blow it — sky high. Yet Trump’s comments continue to grow warmer to the prospect of an aerial strike on Iranian nuclear production as a means of last resort. “I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” he answered a reporter’s question. “Look, it’s very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Araghchi has also warned that Iran will aggressively retaliate against this possibility as well, threatening strikes against American military bases in the Middle East.

At the end of the day, the Iranian regime is acting like a government that wants a nuclear weapon more than it wants peace.