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Iran deplores political approach to nuclear case

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has slammed the UN nuclear watchdog for submitting to the will of certain powerful countries over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

“To maintain its prestige, we expect the [International Atomic Energy] Agency (IAEA) to not allow certain countries to impose their will on the international community through political approaches,” he told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“The IAEA should adopt a legal approach to the issue of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” he added.

Mehmanparast was referring to a report issued on Thursday by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano which accuses Tehran of not providing “the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

Like all previous IAEA reports, the new evaluation verifies the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

However, Iran’s nuclear facilities and enriched uranium are still under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran compared to any other country throughout its history, and found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

Amano’s report also says that there were concerns about “the possible existence” of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.

Tehran’s Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh criticized the inclusion of old issues in the report. “It seems that unsubstantiated allegations that certain countries had previously made about Iran have once again been introduced in this report.”

“Issues pertaining to the alleged studies, missiles and explosives are worn-out topics, which have already been dismissed in ElBaradei’s reports. They are not anything new,” he added.

Mehmanparast stressed that Iran has remained committed to its undertakings and said, “Any move carried out beyond legal framework pursues certain political aims.”

He said that political pressure is aimed at depriving Iran of modern technology and this is “not acceptable.”

“The international community expects certain nuclear countries to keep their promises about the destruction of their nuclear weapons,” added the spokesman.

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