Tehran has expressed its commitment to engaging in negotiations aimed at lifting sanctions and highlighted its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resolve some ambiguities, rejecting recent US threats of action against Iran for not cooperating with international inspectors.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanani, criticized the position of the US representative at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna. He also noted that the US and its three major European allies, Britain, France, and Germany, decided against pursuing a resolution against Iran at the IAEA’s quarterly meeting, despite the US indicating potential actions if Iran does not soon provide the necessary cooperation.
The US has warned it might take future actions against Iran at the IAEA’s June meeting if Tehran continues to obstruct the agency’s work by not cooperating and failing to provide answers to long-standing unresolved issues, including unexplained uranium traces.
The US has urged Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, including allowing access for environmental sampling, and has stated it will request a comprehensive report from IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Iran’s nuclear activities beyond his usual quarterly reports if Iran does not comply.
In response to the US stance, Kanani stated that untechnical and baseless statements have no impact on Iran’s decisions and will in this regard.
He further argued that the US, as a violator of the nuclear deal and many provisions of international law, lacks the legitimacy to comment on Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.
Negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, from which former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, have been at a standstill since September 2022, exacerbated by the onset of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in March of the same year.
Despite this, Tehran asserts its commitment to negotiations for lifting sanctions.
Kanani also referred to recent talks in Doha between the European coordinator for nuclear negotiations, Enrique Mora, and Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, which addressed the revival of the nuclear deal, the regional dimension of the Gaza conflict, and various bilateral issues.
Kanani emphasized that political consultations reviewing bilateral issues and mutual interests, including regional developments, were on the agenda, with the recent meeting focusing on negotiations for lifting sanctions.
He reiterated Iran’s commitment to the negotiation table for sanctions relief, believing that if the other side is willing, negotiations can conclude with all parties returning to their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Russian envoy to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, expressed concern about the expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, warning of the risk of losing control over the situation and attributing the blame to the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
