Need to Prevent IAEA Case From Going to UN Security Council

Iran needs to resolve its nuclear issue at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors and prevent it from going to the United Nations Security Council where a global consensus could be built about the imposition of new sanctions on the country, a former national security official said. 
The 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors has recently passed a resolution, calling on Iran to allow access to two sites that it suspects of storing possible undeclared nuclear material and undertaking nuclear-related activities in 2000s. 
If not resolved, the board may refer the case to the UN Security Council where it could be dealt with under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows the council to authorize actions ranging from sanctions to military intervention.
"We can address the shortcomings of our blameless case within the Board of Governors, where we are in charge of the issue. But once it reaches the Security Council, its fate will be determined by the interplay between big powers," Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former chief of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission warned in an interview with ISNA. 
Iran has denied the agency access, arguing that the case had already been closed when the nuclear deal was signed with the world powers in 2015 and that the request was based on inadmissible Israeli intelligence. 
Falahatpisheh, who is also a university professor, regretted that the outcomes of Iran's successful diplomacy that led to the signing of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, are now withering away. 

Two Blows 

The diplomatic language that was created between Iran and the world since talks over the JCPOA has received blows twice in recent years, he added. 
The first blow was the US "unilateral" exit from the deal in 2018 and the second was IAEA's "multilateral" resolution, he explained. 
The US has reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran and is intensifying pressure to force Iranian leaders to renegotiate a new and more comprehensive nuclear deal.
The three European parties, France Britain and Germany, which had pledged to preserve the deal without the US, seem to be pursuing American policies by submitting resolutions to IAEA’s Board of Governors. 
"[The situation today] is similar to relations between Iran and the world powers in 2006 … when Iran's nuclear case went to the Security Council and six sanction resolutions were issued against Iran," he said. 
By providing the data, he added, Israel and its ally, the US, are trying to revive the issue over possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program based on which the Board of Governors refers countries' cases to the UN Security Council. 

Perilous Path 

If Iran keeps the door open for IAEA verification while protecting its national interests, diplomacy will remain alive, although in a weaker form, according to Falahatpisheh. 
But any radical measures, such as reconsidering commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, could culminate in confrontation with the UN Security Council. 
"This is the path that the Americans and Zionists have planned," he said. 
Iran will not be able to take any further measure then, he added, because it could cause China and Russia to refuse to veto resolutions against Iran on the grounds that its nuclear activities could be taking on military dimensions. 
According to the former security official, those who have pinned hopes on the veto rights of Russia and China as a protective shield in the Security Council are overoptimistic. 
"This optimism can be invalidated in historical context," he said.
Falahatpisheh explained that Iran's two allies are driven by hegemony and their intention to attain international leadership. 
"They will support Iran as long as it does not harm their international hegemonic position," he said.