TEHRAN -- Iran’s top diplomat on Thursday demanded that the UN nuclear agency drop its baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic.
In June, the IAEA’s board of governors adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution, accusing Iran of failing to adequately explain the previous discovery of alleged traces of enriched uranium at three sites as having hosted nuclear activities.
“We are very serious about safeguard issues, and do not want to allow some of the IAEA’s baseless accusations to remain,” Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said, state news agency IRNA reported.
The issue has poisoned relations between the IAEA and the Islamic Republic, which considers the matter “political in nature, and which should not be used as a pretext to punish Iran”, an Iranian diplomat said.
The comments came a day after the U.S. responded to Iran’s proposals on reviving the landmark agreement trashed by former president Donald Trump.
“We are in the process of examining the response of the Americans,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
Just weeks after the deal looked dead, the European Union put forward on August 8 what it called a final text to restore the agreement, in which Iran would see sanctions relief and be able to sell its oil again as per the nuclear accord.
Iran came back last week with a series of proposal, to which the U.S. formally responded on Wednesday, a day after Tehran accused Washington of stonewalling.
The 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. -- gave the Islamic Republic sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Addressing a group of Iranian nationals at the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian said the Iranian administration is following two paths at the same time, making efforts to render the sanctions ineffective and bringing about economic prosperity and development in the country without tying everything to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“As long as we are not sure if our red lines are observed and the Iranian nation’s interests are secured, we will make no haste in this matter,” he said.
In a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed Iran’s resolve to strike a strong and durable deal.
“We have made it clear to all parties that the settlement of the fabricated and political issues relating to the Safeguards is a basic necessity,” he said.
“We possess the serious and real will for the conclusion of a strong and sustainable agreement, and have displayed this will in practice.”