TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday warned the United Nations nuclear agency against the consequences of its “unconstructive” attitude towards Iran. Raisi made the remarks during a phone call initiated by European Council chief Charles Michel, which he had officially requested to hold with the Iranian chief executive. “Instances of Iran’s serious cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy) Agency serve as shining examples of its will to observe transparency in its nuclear activities,” the president said. However, “the agency’s unconstructive attitude will be disruptive of

the negotiation course,” he said, adding, “Naturally, it defies logic to expect Iran to offer a constructive reaction to such attitude.”
The IAEA has, on several occasions, relied on information provided by the U.S. and the Israeli spy agency of Mossad to allege the presence of “uranium traces” on some locations inside the Islamic Republic.
Raisi said Iran was the only country that stood by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the face of the United States and Europeans’ non-commitment.
The president said Iran expected Europe to assume a “strategically independent” line and stop having its policies mirror those of the U.S.
He stated that the Islamic Republic wanted to expand its relations with the European Union and its constituent members “in the areas of common interests.” This, however, rested on the observance of the “mutual respect principle,” focus on areas of commonality, and “prevention of extrinsic elements” from impacting on the relations, the chief executive noted.
“This necessitates the European side’s actual will and its refusal from hinging [its interaction with Iran] to the will of unilateral powers such as the U.S.,” he added.
All, the president also said, have to try to achieve an inclusive government in Afghanistan where the Taliban have risen back to power.
He, meanwhile, referred to the women and children’s rights in the Central Asian country as the Islamic Republic’s “serious concerns,” adding, “We will try our utmost to ensure the preservation of the Afghan nation’s absolute rights.”
Two decades of direct interference by the U.S. and the Western military alliance of NATO proved that the “presence of foreign governments, especially the U.S., in Afghanistan failed to contribute to the establishment of security there, and resulted in nothing but warfare, bloodshed, and destruction for the country”, he said.
President Raisi also took exception to Europe’s refusal to duly condemn the early 2020 “terrorist” assassination of Iran’s senior anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani by the U.S.
The entire world witnessed that Iran was the only country to truly confront Daesh’s terrorism in Iraq and Syria, Raisi asserted.
He called General Soleimani, who used to direct Iran’s military advisory assistance to Baghdad and Damascus in the face of the group, “a hero of terror fight in the region and the world,” censuring European countries for failing to adopt a “just position” on his assassination.
Michel for his part expressed “serious” determination on the part of the EU to boost its relations and economic cooperation with Iran.
He acknowledged the adverse effects that sanctions had left on the two sides’ relations, noting that it was for the same reason that the concept of strategic independence had assumed some significance in the eyes of the bloc.
Michel alleged he was seriously in favor of the idea of the body’s rather advancing its own interests, and remain an “honest partner” for Iran.
Tweeting afterward, he also said, he had talked with Raisi on “the importance to resume quickly the negotiations to bring the JCPOA back on track.”
“The EU and Iran have a common interest to work together on regional and global issues, including on Afghanistan,” the official noted, and acknowledged Iran’s playing “an important historical role in hosting Afghans” through years.