“We exercised our legal and legitimate right to revoke the activities of (IAEA) inspectors from Germany and France,” Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, however, because of a biased report by the Agency’s (IAEA’s) director general, and his failure to refer to this legal right of our country,” there was a propaganda campaign and media hype launched against Iran, he deplored.
Every country has the right based on Article 9 of the Safeguards Agreement to accept or reject the proposed inspectors of the IAEA and can also change its decision after accepting them, Kamalvandi noted.
This sovereign right is not limited to Iran but belongs to all countries and they exercise it in some cases, he stressed.
As for IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s remarks about a nuclear agreement with Iran other than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Kamalvandi said no one but the IAEA chief has so far talked about a JCPOA 2 and such a stance is strange and unexpected.
Grossi has recently said talks with Iran may need a new framework.
“Trying to put (it) back into the JCPOA box wouldn’t work,” Grossi said. “You can still call it a JCPOA, but it should be a JCPOA 2.0 or something because you have to adapt.”
MNA/TSN
