TEHRAN -- Iran on Monday stood by its “decisive and appropriate” response to a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against the Islamic Republic after the agency’s director paid a controversial visit to Occupied Palestine.
Speaking at a weekly news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the resolution has created obstacles on the path of implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The IAEA Board of Governors adopted the resolution proposed by the United States and the E3 – Britain, France, and Germany – on Wednesday, accusing Iran of not cooperating with the agency.
The trigger for the resolution was a report issued by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi after visiting Occupied Palestine and meeting the Zionist regime’s leaders late last month.
The agency has been on the receiving end of documents supplied by Israel about Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has rejected as fake and fabricated by MKO terrorists.
“We could not leave the IAEA’s political and non-technical action unanswered,” Khatibzadeh said, adding Iran’s further reduction of its nuclear obligations is a response to the resolution. “Our response was decisive and appropriate.”
On Thursday, Iran announced it had begun injecting uranium gas into advanced centrifuges and disconnected some of the UN nuclear agency’s cameras monitoring its sites outside the Safeguards Agreement.
“We have terminated the operations of a number of the agency’s cameras functioning outside the Safeguards, and tomorrow we will terminate the operations of the rest, which are 17 to 18 in total,” Muhammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), declared.
Khatibzadeh on Monday said, “The abrupt change in the IAEA chief’s tone, his manner of negotiations, and his discourse when he addressed the European Parliament clearly shows that he was acting on the orders of an outside player.”
He said Grossi’s visit to the Israeli-occupied territories seriously harmed the credibility of the UN nuclear agency.
While the IAEA is required to remain impartial, Grossi traveled to Occupied Palestine, which has not accepted any nuclear non-proliferation treaty, he said.
“It is unfortunate that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has granted the unlawful regime of Israel permission to make a mockery of the international organization through its agents, and erode its credibility.”
Grossi, the Iranian spokesman said, has “made a trip to a wrong place, at the wrong time and has met with wrong people and dealt a heavy blow to the agency’s credibility.”
“These actions have discredited the achievements of international organizations. Under the Statute of the IAEA, its chief is obligated to ensure the independence and impartiality of the organization,” he added.
He also touched on the Vienna talks to revive the Iran deal, saying an agreement is within reach if the United States abandons delusions and fulfills its commitments.
The spokesman said all measures Iran has taken to roll back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal are “reversible.”
“If the agreement is finalized in Vienna tomorrow, all the measures carried out by Iran are technically reversible,” he said.
Iran “is fully honoring its commitments under the safeguards agreement,” Khatibzadeh said, adding that the country has only “stopped some of the voluntary measures.”
“All of the safeguard cameras of the Islamic Republic of Iran are in place; all of the measures it has been undertaking under the supervision of the IAEA are in place,” he added.
Khatibzadeh said the on-off dialogue in Vienna can yield results if the U.S. “puts aside the delusion of using leverage” and “accepts to fully meet its commitments under the JCPOA and UN resolution 2231,” which supports the deal.
“What we are focusing on is that this agreement becomes operational and is signed, and this is possible if the US changes its approach and manner,” he added.
“Unfortunately the U.S. is extending the talks and wants to resolve some bilateral issues through the Vienna negotiations, which is impossible.”