The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has slammed Western countries’ efforts to mount political pressure on the Islamic Republic, adding that such moves will not go unanswered.
Mohammad Eslami made the remark in a Monday meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi in Vienna.
Criticizing the biased approach taken to Iran by Western countries, the Iranian official said, “By resorting to sanctions … these countries are trying to use the IAEA’s mechanisms to mount pressure on Iran.”
“Brutal political pressures exerted by Western countries on Iran will not bear fruit and the Islamic Republic will not allow any politically-motivated pressure to go unanswered,” Iran’s top nuclear official said.
He urged Gross to keep the IAEA on an impartial and professional track and does not allow the Western states to use the Agency’s reports as an excuse to put pressure on Iran.
The meeting came as tensions between Iran and the IAEA have been rising after Tehran’s move to bar a number of the Agency’s inspectors from being assigned to the country.
On September 16, the IAEA chief issued a statement condemning what he called Iran’s “disproportionate and unprecedented” move to withdraw the designation of the Agency’s several “most experienced” inspectors assigned to conduct “verification activities” in the country under the NPT Safeguards Agreement.
Grossi claimed that Iran’s measure “affects the normal planning and conduct of Agency verification activities” in the country and “openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the Agency and Iran.”
In response to Grossi’s claim, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said the United States and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — have abused the UN nuclear watchdog to achieve their own political objectives.
“Unfortunately, despite Iran’s positive, constructive and continuous interaction with the IAEA, the three European countries and the United States have abused the Agency’s Board of Governors for their own political purposes with … the aim of damaging the atmosphere of cooperation between Iran and the Agency,” Kan’ani said in a clear reference to France, Britain and Germany.
The IAEA’s Board of Governors also issued a Western-sponsored statement on September 13, accusing Iran of noncompliance with its Safeguards commitments.
The document, signed by 62 member states of the Agency, called upon Iran to take steps to address outstanding Safeguards issues and provide the IAEA with information concerning its new nuclear facilities.
IAEA willing to make “concrete progress” on Iran’s nuclear program: Grossi
Following the meeting, the IAEA chief said in a post on X social media platform, formally known as Twitter, that his meeting with Eslami was “important.”
Important to engage with Mohammad Eslami, VP and Head of @aeoi_ir, during #IAEAGC. I reiterated @IAEAorg willingness to engage and make concrete progress in the spirit of the March 4 statement to provide credible assurances that 🇮🇷 nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. pic.twitter.com/PvpKsQNs8m
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) September 25, 2023
He added that the IAEA is willing to “engage and make concrete progress” in accordance with an agreement signed in Tehran on March 4 “to provide credible assurances that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”
At the end of a two-day visit by the IAEA director general to Tehran back in March, the two sides issued a joint statement, saying they had agreed to take steps to facilitate cooperation and expedite the resolution of outstanding Safeguards issues.
According to the statement, both sides recognized that such positive engagements between Iran and the IAEA can pave the way for wider agreements among state parties.
