NOURNEWS- Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has said that the latest move by his country to withdraw the designation of several experienced IAEA inspectors was based on the Islamic Republic’s governance rights enshrined in the Safeguards Agreement between the two sides.
Kanaani made the comment on Saturday, hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi condemned Iran for what he called its “unilateral measure” to withdraw the designation of numerous inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog. Grossi claimed that Iran’s measure “affects the normal planning and conduct of the IAEA verification activities” in the Islamic Republic.
Reacting to Grossi’s statement, the spokesman said that Iran had taken the measure based on the governance rights given to the country in Article 9 of the text of an agreement between the country and the agency for the application of safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Kanaani also said that Iran has maintained its positive and constructive cooperation with the IAEA.
But despite that, he added, the UK, France, Germany, and the US, through their excessive demands and with the aim of destroying cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, misused the agency’s Board of Governors for their own political purposes.
Iran has already warned against the consequences of “political misuses” including attempts to politicize the environment of the UN nuclear watchdog, he said.
The Iranian official added that the Islamic Republic expects Western states to refrain from the policy of misusing international organizations, including the IAEA, and allow these bodies to conduct their professional and impartial activities without political pressures.
Kanaani said that Iran will continue its positive cooperation within its agreements with the IAEA, while stressing the need for the agency to act impartially.
NOURNEWS