Iran vows response if nuclear watchdog approves censure: AEOI chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Jun 2024 14:21

Britain, France, and Germany again attempt to provoke Iran, submitting a draft resolution to the IAEA's board, condemning what they called Iran's failure to fully cooperate with the nuclear watchdog.

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Head of Iran's atomic energy department Mohammad Eslami speaks during a news conference after unveiling domestically-developed nuclear medicines in an exhibition of the country's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (AP)

Iran threatened Tuesday to respond if the UN nuclear watchdog approves a new censure resolution proposed by three European governments, Iranian media reported.

"In case of issuing a resolution against Iran in the board of governors and political pressure from the parties, Iran will respond according to the announcement it made to them," the Iranian Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Eslami, the chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), as saying.

Britain, France, and Germany submitted a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board on Monday, condemning what they called Iran's failure to fully cooperate with the watchdog and demanding more accountability.

At the last IAEA board meeting in March, European powers shelved their plans to pressure Iran due to a lack of US support amid rising tensions in West Asia, including the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and the Iranian retaliation to the Israeli strike that targeted the country's consulate in Syria.

The IAEA board has not passed a resolution criticizing Iran since November 2022, when the latter responded by stepping up its enrichment of uranium. Iran suspended its compliance with caps on its nuclear activities set by a landmark 2015 deal with major powers, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions.

Eslami pointed out that, based on the deal, "If the other parties do not return to their commitments, Iran has the right to reciprocally reduce its obligations, and now the country is in the phase of reducing them."

In early May, the AEOI chief pointed out to Al Mayadeen that the United States and the European Troika violated the nuclear agreement, while his country unilaterally continued to honor its commitments for a certain period.

The IAEA has in recent months criticized Iran for an alleged lack of cooperation on issues, including the expansion of its nuclear work, the barring of inspectors, and deactivating the agency's monitoring devices at its nuclear facilities.

But Eslami has stressed during a joint news conference with IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran that his country has "a legal right to reduce our commitments when the other parties do not adhere to their obligations."