IAEA playing into hands of Iran’s adversaries
By Mansour Haghighatpour
Foreign policy expert
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a report on Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says has been shaped by fabricated information provided by Israel and aligns with the agenda of Western powers.
This is not the first time that the IAEA has danced to the rival’s tune. The agency has consistently fallen in line with powers opposed to Iran, releasing reports based on allegations, without being able to even offer evidence to support them.
While the IAEA is theoretically supposed to operate within a legal and regulatory international framework, in practice, it has played the game on the opponent’s pitch. The agency, time and again, has acted as a tool of political leverage for the United States and Israel. In the end, they simply say, “It was a report, and we had to follow up,” washing their hands of any political fallout their actions may cause. Yet their approach creates a toxic political atmosphere that might destroy any chance of genuine and justice-based cooperation.
Regrettably, not just the IAEA, but other international organizations, such as human rights bodies, have been reduced to pawns in the geopolitical games of the US, Israel, and certain other players. They are carrying water for these powers, and they toe the line set by them. Sadly, this biased mechanism runs even deeper, rearing its head in the United Nations itself – a body that has fallen short of upholding truth, justice, and reality. A clear example of that is the genocide in the Gaza Strip. More than nineteen months have passed since the war on Gaza began, and yet the UN Security Council has failed to take meaningful action against the Israeli regime that has caused uproar for targeting tens of thousands of civilians, including children.
The IAEA’s latest report was released at a sensitive time, just as the three European signatories of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, namely Britain, France, and Germany are threatening to trigger the snapback of sanctions against Iran. This timing is no coincidence. It is a deliberate attempt to whip up pressure and shape public opinion against the Islamic Republic, portraying it as aggressive and lawless. Such moves are far from legitimate diplomacy, and runs counter to international norms.
Despite all those attempts, Iran will never be cowed by these false and provocative reports. The country remains steadfast in its peaceful nuclear activities that are under strict inspections by the IAEA. The Islamic Republic is standing its ground, will not back down from its principles, and has made its stance crystal-clear: uranium enrichment is Iran’s sovereign right, and it will go ahead with it accordingly.
Over 1.5 million patients in Iran need radiopharmaceuticals that must be produced at Tehran’s research facilities – an effort that necessitates enriched uranium. Since no foreign suppliers provide this fuel, Iran must make it domestically. The Islamic Republic at the same time has stated unequivocally that it does not pursue nuclear weapons and has no intention of doing so. The production and use of such weapons has no place in Iran’s defense doctrine, as they are banned based on a religious decree (fatwa) issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s foreign policy and nuclear program remain fully transparent and well-defined. It will press ahead undeterred by media hype or orchestrated political drama. Iran is committed to asserting its national will and it will persist until that will is recognized and respected.