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Tehran decries IAEA’s ‘illegal’ resolution, vows countermeasures
Araghchi: Cairo agreement ‘killed’ by US, E3
Iran strongly condemned as "illegal and unjustified" the anti-Iranian resolution adopted by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying it is considering countermeasure against the resolution.
The IAEA’s Board of Governors on Thursday narrowly approved the resolution drafted by the European Troika – France, Germany and the UK – and the United States — passing 19–3 with 12 abstentions — that urges Tehran to “without delay” report on its enriched uranium stockpile and facilities damaged in the June aggression by Israel and the US, while omitting any mention of Iran’s longstanding cooperation with the agency.
In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that the move also proves that the US and the European Troika are bent on misusing the agency to mount pressure on Iran.
The ministry said the resolution was rejected by about half of the IAEA members, including two permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The ministry said that the resolution violates the fundamental principles of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which grants member states the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The ministry said the resolution even failed to admit that direct military aggression by the US and Israel was the reason why the agency’s inspections in Iran came to a halt.
It emphasized that Iran has never tried to make nuclear weapons, stressing that Israel and its nuclear arsenal pose the main threat to international peace and security.
The ministry concluded by making it clear that it will spare no effort to safeguard the rights and interests of the Iranian nation regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
West seeks ‘escalation’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a post on X on Friday said that E3 and the US seek escalation despite Iran’s measures to cooperate with the IAEA as a goodwill gesture to resolve the nuclear standoff with the West.
“Like the diplomacy which was assaulted by Israel and the US in June, the Cairo Agreement has been killed by the US and the E3,” Araghchi said.
Citing their measures against Iran in recent months, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, reimposition of international sanctions as well as the Thursday’s resolution at the IAEA, the Iranian foreign minister said, “Clear for all to see: Iran is not the party that seeks to manufacture another crisis. Nor is our good will appreciated. Given that the E3 and the US seek escalation, they know full well that the official termination of the Cairo Agreement is the direct outcome of their provocations.”
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Friday that Iran is considering countermeasures against the resolution.
“In an official letter to the Agency, we declared that the so-called Cairo agreement — which had been reached with Iran’s goodwill and after relatively long negotiations with the agency — is now canceled. Other measures are also under consideration,” Baqaei said.
Before the Cairo agreement, Iran had suspended cooperation with the agency following the deadly US-Israeli aggression against Iran in June.
Baqaei also condemned the IAEA’s resolution as a “blatant misuse of the international body” to advance the objectives of the US and the three European countries about Iran’s nuclear issue.
Russia, China, Pakistan oppose resolution
Russia and China rebuked the resolution on Friday, calling for the settlement of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear issue through dialogue and cooperation.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russia continues to firmly emphasize finding political and diplomatic solutions to the issue of Iran's nuclear program.
The spokeswoman added that Moscow has repeatedly warned about the dangers of “military actions” that threaten the stability and security of West Asia, underlining that any military attack on nuclear facilities, especially those under the monitoring of the IAEA, is “unacceptable.”
Zakharova further underlined that the West must put aside threats of sanctions and military threats and return to diplomacy with Iran.
Li Song, China’s permanent representative to the IAEA, told the Board of Governors on Thursday that pushing through a counterproductive resolution against Iran will “only make things worse,” stressing that the US, Israel, and key European states are fueling the ongoing crisis surrounding Tehran’s nuclear file.
“Countries that have recklessly resorted to the use of force and obsessively pursued confrontation and pressure are responsible for the current situation of the Iranian nuclear issue,” Li said.
The Chinese envoy stressed that Israel and the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities safeguarded by the IAEA in June, which led to a “fundamental change in the situation of the Iranian nuclear issue.”
“Such an act should be strongly condemned by the international community and the IAEA,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson emphasized his country's principled position in opposing the escalating and anti-diplomatic actions regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, saying that Islamabad supports Tehran's right to enrich uranium, the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.