Iran
Historical Chronology

The IAEA Director General released a report on implementation by Iran of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and Council resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803. The report found that Iran was making significant progress on developing and operating its centrifuges enriching uranium, and that it continued to resist efforts to address alleged nuclear-weapons work—in particular, it seems that Iran received assistance of foreign expertise.

The chairman of the 1737 Sanctions Committee on Iran, Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls, briefed the Council on the recent activities of the Committee.

8 August 2008

The EU amended its common position implementing Security Council sanctions against Iran. The new amendments slightly extended sanctions in resolution 1803 by calling on the EU’s financial institutions to exercise “restraint” (not just vigilance) on export credits, and decreeing that EU member states inspect Iran-bound cargoes. 

7 August 2008

In the absence of a clear response from Iran on an E3+3 package of poposals for renewed negotiations with Iran, the E3+3 agreed to consider further sanctions against Iran.  Despite the breakdown of discussions on the E3+3 proposal, Jalili and Solana on 11 August agreed in a telephone conversation to continue talks. 

28 July 2008

President Ahmadinejad announced that Iran now possessed between 5,000 and 6,000 nuclear centrifuges, almost twice what it disclosed in April 2007.

19 July 2008

Solana and representatives of the E3+3 met with Jalili in Geneva to discuss a consolidated proposal for cooperation in several areas they sent to Iran to be used as a basis for renewed negotiations as soon as it suspends uranium enrichment (S/2008/393). Jalili introduced a proposal setting modalities for starting negotiations, but this did not include any movement on the “freeze” of “suspension” issues. It seems that Jalili sought to concentrate on common ground between an Iranian proposal for negotiations on long-term cooperation in the political, security, economic and nuclear fields presented in May, and the E3+3 proposal. (Those common points include launching a dialogue between Iran and the E3+3, cooperation on regional security issues and drug trafficking, and cooperation on trade, investment and the provision of energy, including nuclear energy.)  The decision to ignore the key issues of freeze and suspension led the E3+3 to ask Jalili to provide a clearer answer to their proposal within two weeks.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was ready to open comprehensive negotiations but that it would never accept preconditions.  

9-10 July 2008

Iran conducted ballistic missile tests. In response the US said it was ready to defend its allies in the region if they are attacked.

14 June 2008

Javier Solana, the EU Foreign Policy Chief and E3+3 representative travelled to Iran with representatives from the E3 (France, Germany and the UK) and from China and Russia to present Iran a new offer for negotiations. In addition to this proposal, Solana submitted a paper outlining the way forward, which would include three steps:   a preliminary period of talks between Solana and the Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili; a maximum six-week pre-negotiation phase during which Iran would not increase its number of centrifuges and the E3+3 would not adopt any new sanctions—a  “double freeze” period that would allow some talks to take place in the absence of uranium enrichment suspension; and formal negotiations within the framework of “double suspension” involving Iran suspending its sensitive nuclear activities (including uranium enrichment) and the Council suspending its sanctions.  On 15 July, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was ready to open comprehensive negotiations but that it would never accept preconditions.

13 June 2008

The Council heard a briefing by the Chairman of the  1737 Sanctions Committee, Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls, on activities of the committee from 18 March to 13 June.

26 May 2008

The ElBaradei report on implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement and resolutions 1737, 1747 and 1803 in Iran was released, indicating that Iran continued to refuse to suspend uranium enrichment activities.

13 May 2008

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Iran affirmed that it was ready to negotiate with the E3+3 without preconditions on issues of mutual interest. The letter included a package of proposals for negotiations on long-term cooperation in the political, security, economic and nuclear fields. An important element is a proposal to bolster democracy in the region and prevent terrorism. In its section on nuclear issues, the letter did not include an offer to suspend uranium enrichment, but mentioned the possibility of "improved supervision by the IAEA" and the establishment of "enrichment and nuclear fuel production consortiums in different parts of the world, including Iran."

2 May 2008

The E3+3 foreign ministers met in London and agreed to put a new proposal to Iran with the condition that Iran suspends uranium enrichment.

24 April 2008

The 1737 Sanctions Commitee approved a revised guideline incorporating relevant provisions of the resolution 1803, in addition to a consolidated list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions (S/PV.5909).

17 March 2008   

Belgian Ambassador Johan Verbeke, briefed the Council on the activities of the Sanctions Committee (S/PV.5853).

3 March 2008

Council members held a debate and adopted resolution 1803.

22 February 2008

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, issued a report on the implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement and Council resolutions 1737 and 1747 in Iran. The report covered developments on the implementation of the August 2007 work plan between Iran and the IAEA to resolve outstanding issues.

21 February 2008

A draft resolution based on elements agreed among the E3 plus 3 (France, Germany and the UK plus China, Russia and the US) was introduced to the rest of the Council by the UK and France. It tightens sanctions against Iran because of its non-compliance with the two previous Council resolutions demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment.

15 February 2008

Media reports revealed that the US shared intelligence data with the IAEA showing that Iran has tried to develop a nuclear weapon in the past, especially information on the “green salt project”. The findings came from an Iranian laptop that the CIA acquired in 2004. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, called the data “100 percent fabricated and forged.”

4 February 2008

Iran reported it had launched a rocket from its new space centre in the Semnan province. A Russian official said this raised suspicions about Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran also stated that it was testing an advanced nuclear centrifuge. The US said that this strengthened the case for a third sanctions resolution.

22 January 2008

The E3 plus 3 foreign ministers met in Berlin and agreed on elements for a new sanctions resolution.

11-12 January 2008

ElBaradei visited Iran and met Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran and the IAEA agreed that implementation of all remaining verification issues specified in the August 2007 work plan for resolving outstanding issues would be completed by 13 February.

6 January 2008

A naval incident between Iran and the US occurred in the Strait of Hormuz. The White House warned Iran that its action was provocative and dangerous. Iran accused the US of orchestrating a propaganda campaign.

18 December 2007

The Chairman of the 1737 Sanctions Committee reported to the Council on the Committee’s activities covering the period 20 September to 18 December and said that 87 member states had reported to the Committee on implementation of resolution resolution 1737, and 71 on implementation of resolution 1747. 

14 December 2007

In a statement, the EU renewed support for additional UN sanctions and additional unilateral measures as well. 

13 December 2007

Russia and Iran signed an agreement to complete the Bushehr nuclear plant project. Delivery of fuel, which had been delayed several times, began in December. The US said this confirmed that Iran had no need to continue its enrichment programme, since fuel was available.

11 December 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad portrayed the NIE report’s conclusions as a “victory” for Iran. He also said there should be dialogue with the US. Former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani also suggested that the E3+3 should hold face-to-face talks with Iran.

3 December 2007

A new US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was published indicating that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003.

1 December 2007

E3+3 political directors met and agreed that, since there was no new opening from Iran, work on elements of a new resolution should start.

30 November 2007

EU envoy Javier Solana and the Iranian nuclear negotiator Said Jalili met in London to discuss renewed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. Solana later described the talks as “disappointing”.

22 November 2007

The latest IAEA report on the implementation of the Safeguards Agreement and resolutions 1737 and 1747 in Iran was considered by the IAEA Board meeting. In his briefing to the Board, ElBaradei noted that implementation of the work plan was proceeding according to schedule. He also said that it was only through negotiations that a comprehensive and durable solution could be reached, and that confidence in the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme could be built.  

19 November 2007

An E3+3 meeting due to take place in Brussels to discuss the way forward was postponed after China was unable to attend.

13 November 2007

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Iran. He urged President Ahmadinejad to halt the uranium enrichment programme in compliance with international demands. He acknowledged Iran’s right to peacefully use nuclear energy and expressed hope that all parties would show flexibility for a peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue. This followed a visit to Iran by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 30 October.

2 November 2007

The E3+3 Political Directors met in London and reaffirmed their position as expressed in the 28 September 2007 statement.

23 October 2007

Solana and the new Iranian nuclear negotiator met in Rome to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Both sides described those talks as "constructive," but there was no movement on the issue of uranium enrichment suspension, and in a statement made on the same day, Iranian President Ahmadinejad said that Iran would not retreat "one iota" from its nuclear programme.

20 October 2007

Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani resigned and was replaced by Said Jalili, a close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

16 October 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad at a summit meeting of five Caspian Sea nations in Iran.  It seems discussions included completion of the nuclear power plant Russia is building in Bushehr, and plans to cooperate on space, aviation and energy.

15 October 2007

EU foreign ministers discussed French-sponsored proposals to reinforce EU unilateral sanctions (such as broader cut-offs in bank lending) before another Security Council resolution. A statement was adopted, which said that "the EU will consider what additional measures it might take in order to support the UN process."

28 September 2007

A ministerial meeting of the EU3+3 took place on the margins of the General Assembly in New York. They adopted a statement reflecting a new "dual track" approach.

25 September 2007

During his speech to the UN General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he considered the dispute over Iran's nuclear program as closed and that it had "turned into an ordinary Agency [IAEA] matter".

21 September 2007

An EU3+3 meeting was held in Washington. It seems that the political directors were not able to agree on a way forward at either that meeting or a subsequent one in New York. 

19 September 2007

The chairman of the Iran Sanctions Committee briefed the Council and said that 81 countries had reported to the Committee on measures taken to implement resolution 1737 and 67 countries had reported on implementation of resolution 1747.

10-14 September 2007

The IAEA Board met. IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei asked Iran to allow wider-ranging inspections and to go beyond the implementation of the agreement to resolve the outstanding issues and suspend uranium enrichment activities. He also reiterated his call for a "double time-out" suspending all enrichment-related activities and sanctions simultaneously in order to create space for negotiations.

30 August 2007

The report of the Director General of the IAEA on implementation of the Non Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement in Iran and resolutions 1737 and 1747 was published. It covered developments since May 2007 and noted that:

• a "work plan" agreed between Iran and the IAEA in order to resolve the outstanding issues was "a significant step forward" (INFCIRC/711);
• the IAEA remained unable to verify certain aspects relevant to the scope and nature of Iran's nuclear programme; and
• Iran had not suspended uranium enrichment as requested by the Security Council, but enrichment levels were below what Iran had previously announced.

Iran released on bail the Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari who had been arrested in May in Iran on espionage charges.

20-21 August 2007

A last round of talks was held between the IAEA and Iranian officials in Tehran. A timetable and modalities for Iran to respond to questions about its nuclear activities and to provide for more effective inspections of facilities was agreed.

15 August 2007

The US administration decided to proceed with the designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation.

31 July 2007

IAEA inspectors visited Iran's Arak research nuclear reactor which is designed for producing plutonium. Also, an arms deal was signed between the US and various Arab allies. US officials have said that one goal was to counter the growing power of Iran. Finally, the Deutsche Bank announced its decision to cease doing business involving Iran.

24 July 2007

Another round of talks between the US and Iranian ambassadors to Baghdad was held and focused on Iraq's security situation.

11-12 July 2007

An action plan for resolving the outstanding issues between the IAEA and Iran was prepared during an IAEA visit to Iran.  

23 June 2007

Ali Larjani and Javier Solana met again but at time of writing it seemed that no encouraging development had occurred.

22 June 2007

On 22 June, on a separate track, ElBaradei and Larijani met in Vienna. They agreed to draw up an action plan for resolving the outstanding issues between the IAEA and Iran.

8 June 2007

In a final statement, the G8 deplored Iran's failure to meet its obligations under Council resolutions and supported additional measures should Iran further refuse to comply.

3 June 2007

Tensions between Iran and the international community increased. Following President Ahmadinejad's remarks calling for "the destruction of the Zionist regime", France and the US pushed the Council to adopt a press statement condemning these remarks, but no consensus could be reached.

31 May 2007

The EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani in Spain. Larijani suggested that Iran was ready to better cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

14 May 2007

Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani announced that suspension of uranium enrichment would not be negotiated.

10 May 2007

The EU3+3 met in Berlin and reaffirmed that a negotiated solution was their goal but agreed to start work on a third resolution imposing additional sanctions.

2 May 2007

EU3+3 met in London

30 April-11 May 2007

The first of three Preparatory Committee sessions in the run-up to the 2010 Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty took place in Vienna.

25 April 2007

EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and Ali Larijani held talks in Ankara.

10 April 2007

 Iran announced that it had completed the nuclear fuel cycle and that it had plans to install 50,000 centrifuges.

22 February 2007

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei confirmed that Iran had not complied with resolution 1737.

23 January 2007

The sanctions committee established by resolution 1737 of 23 December held its first meeting.

22 January 2007

EU foreign ministers announced a decision to ban trade with Iran in all the goods on the Nuclear Supplier Group and Missile Technology Control Regime lists.

5 December 2006

The political directors of the EU3+3 met in Paris to discuss major amendments to a draft resolution presented by Russia.

3 November 2006

Russia proposed major amendments removing many of the sanctions' measures.

24 October 2006

The EU3+3 presented a draft resolution.

6 October 2006

The EU3+3 met in London.

9 September 2006

Contacts between Javier Solana and Ali Larijani resumed.

22 August 2006

Iran presented a 21-page response to the P5 plus Germany package of incentives.

19 July 2006

Consultations between the P5 plus Germany on a draft resolution resume.

20 July 2006

Iran announced it would formally respond to the offer on 22 August 2006.

12 July 2006

The P5 plus Germany said that Iran had failed to take the steps needed to allow negotiations to begin and that this left no choice but to return to the Security Council.

11 July 2006

A meeting between Ali Larijani, Javier Solana and the foreign ministers of the P5 plus Germany in Brussels ended with no result.

22 June 2006

Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki who informed Annan that Iran was considering the package very seriously and was willing to negotiate if there are no pre-conditions.

6 June 2006

Javier Solana took the incentives package to Tehran

1 June 2006

The P5 plus Germany agreed to offer Iran a package of incentives, which included the suspension of action in the Council, as a basis for further discussion.

18 May 2006

The Secretary of the League of Arab States wrote to the Security Council expressing "complete rejection" of nuclear weapons in the region and reactivating an earlier Arab proposal for a regional nuclear weapon free zone.

2 May 2006

The Political Directors of the P5 plus Germany met in Paris.

25 April 2006

Ali Larijani said Iran would cut ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency if the Council imposed sanctions on Iran.

18 to 20 April 2006

Senior diplomats from the P5 plus Germany met in Moscow. Results of the talks are inconclusive.

13 April 2006

Mohammed ElBaradei failed to secure agreement from the Iranian government on compliance with the 29 March Council statement during a trip to Iran.

11 April 2006

Iran announced that it had managed to enrich uranium to 3.5 percent, the level needed to make reactor fuel and asserted that it was now pursuing a more sophisticated and speedy method of enrichment.

30 March 2006

Iran rejected the 29 March Council statement, reaffirmed its right to enrichment technology for civilian purposes, confirmed its intention not to suspend any nuclear activities, and hinted at the possibility of withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and even transferring nuclear technology to other countries.

29 March 2006

The Security Council unanimously adopted a presidential statement calling on Iran to halt its nuclear work.

20 March 2006

President Bush said he hoped to solve the issue diplomatically with a united message from the P5, but added that it will use military power to protect Israel.

February 2006

Iran resumed enrichment following the 4 February IAEA resolution reporting Iran to the Security Council, and threatened to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

31 January 2006

The EU+3, China, Russia and the US met in London and agreed that the International Atomic Energy Agency should report Iran to the Council.

January 2006

After a failed attempt to have the Iranian delegation meet the UN inspectors in Vienna, Iran broke the IAEA seals at its Natanz nuclear research facility on 10 January and declared its intention to resume the enrichment process.

December 2005

Iran refused to resume negotiations with the EU+3. Ahmadinejad again rejected the Russian proposal, and then agreed to consider it.

11 November 2005

With the agreement of the EU and the US, Russia proposed that Iran enrich uranium in Russia. The plan was rejected by Iran.

24 September 2005

An International Atomic Energy Agency resolution found Iran in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and said that Iran's nuclear activities "have given rise to questions that are within the competence of the Security Council." The resolution invited the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General to report again and noted that the Board would address this report at a later stage for a possible notification of the Council.

August 2005

After rejecting the EU+3 cooperation proposal, Tehran declared it had resumed uranium conversion at its Isfahan plant and insisted the programme was for peaceful purposes.

June 2005

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won presidential elections, defeating former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

13 December 2004

Negotiations between Iran and the EU+3 started.

15 November 2004

Under the Paris Accord, Iran agreed to suspend most of its uranium enrichment in return for a European undertaking to cooperate on the nuclear, commercial and political levels.

June 2004

The International Atomic Energy Agency rebuked Iran for failing to fully cooperate with an inquiry into its nuclear activities and confirmed the discovery of highly enriched uranium.

18 December 2003

Iran signed the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

10 November 2003

The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that there was no evidence of a weapons programme in Iran.

21 October 2003

Iran agreed to fully cooperate with the IAEA by promising to suspend its uranium enrichment program and allow tougher UN inspections of its nuclear facilities through the signature of the Additional Protocol.

12 September 2003

The International Atomic Energy Agency gave Tehran a 31 October 2003 deadline to prove it was not pursuing an atomic weapons programme.

26 August 2003

An International Atomic Energy Agency report showed the presence of enriched uranium in Iran at rates superior to what is necessary for civilian use.

13 June 2003

The International Atomic Energy Agency asked Iran to implement the Additional Protocol of the Nom-Proliferation Treaty.

21 February 2003

The International Atomic Energy Agency inspections began.

9 February 2003

Iranian President Mohammed Khatami announced that his country would be producing its own atomic fuel for future civilian nuclear plants.

December 2002

Satellite pictures showed that two nuclear sites existed in Arak and in Natanz. Iran accepted an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection.