Iran urges end to selective implementation of IAEA statute
Iran’s permanent mission to international organizations in Vienna criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency’s double standards and silence over US and Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling on the agency to end selective enforcement of its obligations and return to the principles of impartiality, independence and full implementation of its statute.
In a statement marking the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the IAEA Statute, the Iranian mission said the agency could not remain silent in the face of attacks on nuclear facilities under safeguards while claiming to uphold the credibility of the safeguards system.
The mission described the silence of the agency’s governing bodies and secretariat over the military attacks by the US and Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities as a “serious and unprecedented institutional failure”. It also warned of the consequences of politicization, breaches of information confidentiality and discriminatory treatment of member states.
Iran further pointed to the absence of comprehensive safeguards oversight over Israel’s nuclear activities, urging the IAEA Board of Governors and director general to put an end to double standards, ensure the full and balanced implementation of the agency’s statute and respect the legitimate rights of member states.
The implementation of the statute over the past seven decades had produced achievements in important areas, the statement said. However, its failure to be implemented fully, consistently, effectively and without discrimination under all circumstances and toward all member states has diverted the agency from its fundamental purpose and core priorities, weakened the principles governing its work, undermined its professionalism and eroded its authority and credibility.
“The undeniable reality is that the statute is the constitution of the agency, not a document that can be invoked selectively or interpreted on the basis of the interests of powerful states or a group of states,” the mission said.
The statement cited a persistent disparity between the scrutiny and inspections applied to Iran and the absence of comprehensive safeguards covering all of Israel’s nuclear activities.
This disparity raised fundamental questions about the credibility and consistency of international nuclear non-proliferation norms, the mission added.
A credible, comprehensive and non-discriminatory approach to nuclear verification across the Middle East is a legitimate demand and a long-standing objective of regional states that are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT),
the statement said, adding that regional security could not be built on selective oversight and unequal expectations.
US and Israeli military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025 and 2026 constituted serious and substantive violations of the peremptory norm of international law prohibiting aggression, the statement said.
The attacks posed a grave challenge to nuclear safety and security, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the credibility of the IAEA and the integrity of its safeguards system, it added.