The Iranian delegation at the special meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors (IAEA BoG) condemned the attacks by the US and the Zionist regime on nuclear facilities under Iranian safeguards, called for a “zero tolerance” policy against such actions and threats, and warned that normalizing attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities poses a serious threat to the non-proliferation regime and international security.
The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the special meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency described the attacks carried out against nuclear facilities under IAEA Safeguards as the “most extensive and unprecedented” attacks against such sites since the IAEA was established and called for a decisive response from the international community.
Referring to the Agency’s record of condemning the Israeli regime’s attack on Iraq’s nuclear facilities in 1981, the Iranian delegation recalled that the Agency’s BoG and General Conference have, in numerous resolutions, considered any attack or threat against nuclear facilities under Safeguards as in violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the Agency’s Statute.
Iranian representatives also noted that United States and the Israeli regime have carried out a total of 17 waves of attacks against nuclear facilities under Safeguards during the 12-Day and Ramadan wars, one of the most dangerous of these attacks occurred near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, approximately 350 meters from the plant’s reactor, and resulted in human casualties.
Referring to the Agency’s Director General’s warning about the possible consequences of a direct attack on the Bushehr power plant, the Iranian delegation emphasized that such an action could have led to a widespread emission of radioactive materials into the environment.
The Iranian delegation also warned that these attacks undermine the objectives and principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the IAEA Statute and call into question the credibility of the global non-proliferation regime, in particular the IAEA Safeguards regime.
The Iranian delegation called on member states to avoid politicized, selective approaches and double standards, prevent the normalization of attacks on nuclear facilities under Safeguards Agreement and, if necessary, develop new international rules to absolutely prohibit any attack or threat against those facilities.
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