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Deputy FM: Iran will reconsider ties with IAEA if new resolution adopted
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi on Sunday warned the European powers that if they get through their draft resolution against Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog, Iran would make a “fundamental revision” in its interactions with the agency and issues related to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). There are reports that the United States, together with Britain, France, and Germany are gearing up to introduce a resolution against Iran over its “lack of cooperation” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at an upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors scheduled to take place from November 19 to 21 in Vienna.
“These countries, instead of being held accountable for their silence and inaction regarding the US and Israeli attacks on Iran [in June], now want to impose further pressure on Iran,” Gharibabadi said, adding the reason was that they failed to achieve what they sought through the snapback mechanism, ISNA reported.
He expressed hope that the Western countries would “act rationally” and drop their bid at the IAEA meeting.
Meanwhile, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday that the European troika continued “bullying behavior” against Iran and were adamant about taking further “provocative moves” against the country. Eslami said the IAEA, its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Board of Governors, and the UN Security Council failed to condemn US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities during the June war.
“It is regrettable that the European troika continues the same bullying behavior against Iran and has set provocative moves on the agenda,” he added.
On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked war against Iran, killing dozens of high-ranking military commanders and nuclear scientists, as well as hundreds of ordinary civilians. More than a week later, the United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the NPT. Eslami also described the country’s nuclear activities as transparent, vowing to continue the same path despite the persisting pressure by the US and Europeans. He emphasized that the IAEA has a clear statute and its mission is to contribute to peaceful nuclear technology. The Iranian nuclear chief noted that Tehran has been fully cooperating with the agency over the past 10 years, and that the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 officially expired on October 18.