Tehran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has announced that Iran will take responsive measures to a recent anti-Iran resolution passed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors (BoG).
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Baqaei described the recent anti-Iran resolution as a misuse of an international institution to advance the nuclear-related objectives of the United States and three European countries.
He characterized the move as irresponsible and unjustifiable, adding that it disregards the working criteria and procedures of the IAEA and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Baqaei stated that the resolution damages the independence and credibility of the IAEA, reducing it to a political tool for pressuring certain member states.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized that the resolution made no mention of the root causes of the current situation. Baqaei noted that neither the resolution nor the statements read by the three European countries and the United States acknowledged the fact that the Israeli regime and the US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities in mid-June, an act which led to the cessation of some of Iran’s cooperative measures with the Agency.
He mentioned that the resolution has created a division within the Board of Governors, with nearly half of the countries voting against it or abstaining. He highlighted that two permanent members of the UNSC, China and Russia, which had previously opposed attempts to reinstate canceled Security Council resolutions, voted against this resolution.
Baqaei noted that the resolution is legally weak because it is based on a plan that the three European countries had previously pursued at the UNSC, a plan considered null and void by Iran and a significant part of the international community, including the two permanent Security Council members. In response to this action, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson declared that Iran has officially notified the IAEA via a formal letter that the understanding known as the Cairo memorandum of understanding is now considered canceled.
He further stated that other responsive actions are also being considered. Addressing the claims made by the United States and the three European countries, Baqaei termed them deceitful and hypocritical. He added that the opposing parties have violated their commitments and have shown no sincerity in their claims of using diplomacy to resolve the issue.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson argued that the issuance of the resolution signifies an opposition to a diplomatic solution and a reliance on pressure and sanctions, making their claims impossible to take seriously due to their contradiction with their actual behavior.