TEHRAN – Tehran on Saturday roundly rejected the UN nuclear agency’s report, saying “baseless claims about Iran’s nuclear program are an excuse to create a climate of hostility against Tehran”.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a “confidential” report to member states on Friday. 
The report requested by the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors in November paves the way for a push by the United States, Britain, France and Germany for the board to declare Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations. 
Using the IAEA report, the four Western powers reportedly plan to submit a draft resolution for the board to adopt at its next meeting the week of June 9, possibly declaring Iran in non-compliance for the first time in almost 20 years.
European countries could move to trigger snap-back sanctions against Iran that were lifted under the original 2015 nuclear deal ahead of October, when the deal formally expires. Iranian officials have warned strong response to such a move. 
The report comes as Iran and the United States have held several rounds of talks with the aim of reaching an agreement on their nuclear issues, which would remove sanctions on the Islamic Republic and allow Iran to take more confidence-making measures about its nuclear program. 
On Thursday, senior Iranian officials dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States, emphasizing that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country’s nuclear program to continue.
Iran on Saturday rejected the report as “politically motivated” and said Tehran will take “appropriate measures” in response to any effort to take action against the country at the Board of Governors meeting. 
“Repeating baseless allegations that cannot be validated, along with expressing excessive concern about this matter, is merely an excuse for creating political atmosphere against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the joint statement said.
It touched on the November 2024 meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, in which the governments of the UK, France, Germany, and the United States, “in a political and unjustified move, and without regard to the achievements

 of the IAEA Director General’s visit to Iran, presented a resolution against Iran, which resulted in the lack of support of a large number of members for this political and destructive approach of the resolution’s founders”. 
“While the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to cooperate with the Agency within the framework of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the issuance of joint statements, the published report contains references to minor, unrelated, and extra-safeguards issues beyond the assigned mission,” it added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, while expressing regret over the publication of this report, which was prepared for political purposes through pressure on the Agency, expresses its clear objection to its content,” the statement said.
It warned that “If some countries intend to abuse Iran’s cooperation and interactions with the Agency and its transparent and trust-building approach in the Agency’s verification activities or the current report during the Board of Governors meeting, the Islamic Republic of Iran will adopt and implement appropriate measures in response to such an approach, in order to protect the country’s legitimate rights and interests, the consequences and responsibility of which will be borne by those countries”.
Many of the IAEA report’s “findings” relate to activities dating back decades and have been made before. Tehran says it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, while the most intrusive inspections by UN experts in the IAEA’s history have found no diversion toward weaponization.