TEHRAN -- Iran on Friday condemned an “unjustifiable” resolution passed by the UN nuclear agency against the country’s peaceful atomic program, ordering the activation of advanced centrifuges in response.
In a joint statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said directives had been issued to “initiate the operation of a substantial number of advanced centrifuges of various models”.
The measure, which is taken to safeguard Iran’s national interests and address its growing need for civilian nuclear program, lies within the framework of the country’s rights and obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, they said.
The joint statement came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Board of Governors adopted a resolution, accusing Tehran of a poor cooperation with the agency.
The motion was put forward by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States at the 35-nation board and follows a similar one in June, criticized then by Iran as “hasty and unwise”.
Nineteen members of the IAEA board voted for the resolution. Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, 12 abstained and one reportedly did not vote.
The joint Iranian statement said that the “non-consensus” motion was approved under the “pressure and insistence” of Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. despite lacking the support of approximately half of the board. 
The aforesaid states, it said, proposed a “politically motivated” resolution against the Islamic Republic, rather than fostering the constructive atmosphere established during IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s recent visit to Tehran.
“In this context, the actions of the three European nations and the United States—countries with a documented history of reneging on their commitments, including under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and resorting to unlawful sanctions and pressures against the Iranian nation—are both confrontational and unjustifiable,” read the statement.
“This politicized and destructive measure undermines the positive momentum achieved between Iran and the Agency and blatantly contradicts the professed commitment of the three European nations and the United States to preserving the integrity and impartiality of the IAEA. It lays bare their use of the nuclear issue as a pretext to advance illegitimate objectives.”
The joint statement added that “technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past” and within the framework of agreements made by Iran.
“The principled policy of the I.R. of Iran has consistently been to engage constructively with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the framework of rights and obligations enshrined in the Treaty on the NPT and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement,” it asserted.
Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran’s permanent representative at the United Nations office in Vienna, said the resolution came despite “good promises”
 made by Grossi during his recent visit to Tehran.
Grossi said on Wednesday that Iran agreed to cap its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium and to accept new inspectors the agency needs to have in Iran. He said that day that it was “a concrete step in the right direction,” suggesting that he felt a resolution could undermine that progress.
“This resolution does not look at those promises as well as the roadmap we have agreed with the DG to move forward,” Naziri Asl said, stressing, “Our reaction is of course in accordance with our legitimate rights.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi this week condemned efforts by European countries to pass their fourth resolution since 2020, saying it would “complicate” nuclear talks.
The motion comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.
Trump’s first term in office was marked by a particularly tense period with Iran, when he pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran, which eventually resulted in Washington’s unilateral decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers.
In response, Iran stepped up its nuclear enrichment.
Iran had already warned that any resolution against its peaceful nuclear program would be met with a quick response.