If western countries had good faith and intended to pursue negotiations on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, they naturally would not submit a draft resolution of such dimensions against Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, Iran’s top nuclear official said.
“The draft contains unpleasant contents which are not true and completely rejected by Iran,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told reporters on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, ISNA reported.
The United States, Britain, France and Germany have submitted a motion to the UN nuclear watchdog’s board censuring Iran over purported lack of cooperation with the agency on safeguards issues.
The resolution comes after a report by the agency concluded there had been “no progress” in a long-standing probe into nuclear material allegedly found at undeclared sites.
Reports said a visit by an IAEA delegation in Tehran was scheduled for the end of the month in an attempt to make progress on the investigation, but Eslami said such a trip is not on the agenda.
The draft text must be discussed and voted on during this week’s quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors that started on Wednesday.
A majority of board members is sufficient to pass the resolution.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at a press conference on Wednesday that “these things are not going to go away, resolution or no resolution, it is their [Iran’s] obligation to provide us information we need.”
Constant Contact
The director general had earlier dismissed Iran’s explanation as not credible in June, paving the way for a board resolution in June.
Iran argues that the IAEA questions are based on fabricated data and insists that the case needs to be closed before any agreement on restoring the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The JCPOA lifted international sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, but the United States pulled out in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions that prompted Iran to row back on its commitments.
Negotiations have been underway to work out how both sides can resume compliance, but have been stalled for months over final differences, including the safeguards issue.
While Iranian officials say communication is underway between the two sides, Americans claim that the talks are no longer their priority, as they have shifted their attention to other developments, including the riots in Iran and alleged sale of drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine.
US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley insisted earlier this week that the United States would leave the door open to resume diplomacy “when and if” the time came, but for now Washington would continue a policy of sanctions and pressure.
“Our focus is not an accord that isn’t moving forward, but what is happening in Iran,” he said, referring to what he called a “popular movement” and “crackdown against protesters”.
Iran has seen riots since the death of a young girl in police custody that later developed into violent clashes between rioters and security forces.
Tehran blames the West for provoking violence among protesters to advance their own agenda.
Malley also said the US focus is on Tehran’s alleged sale of armed drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine and the liberation of three American nationals imprisoned in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, however, said on the sidelines of the Wednesday Cabinet meeting that there is a constant exchange of messages between Iran and the US, and that the latest indirect contact happened less than 72 hours earlier.
“The US has sent messages through some foreign ministers and they are in a hurry for negotiations,” he said, criticizing Malley for hypocritically saying that that talks are not their priority and highlighting their provocative actions to create turmoil on Iranian streets instead.
The clear purpose of the US is to pressurize Iran into crossing its red lines, according to the minister.
“But national interests are important for us and we will not give them up, but we will continue the course of negotiations to remove the sanctions,” he said.
Amir-Abdollahian said reaching an agreement on the JCPOA, with all its weaknesses and strengths discussed over the past months, is possible, in case the other parties fulfill their commitments and the deal works well for Iran.
