Iran slams IAEA report on nuclear energy program

The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations has slammed the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

Mohammad Khazaei on Monday stressed Iran’s inalienable right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and called on the IAEA to observe the principle of impartiality and professional conduct.

Khazaei added that Iran and the other members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) are against the attempts by certain countries to politicize the IAEA’s activities and call for an end to any interference in the agency’s affairs.

Such actions could undermine the IAEA’s authority, efficiency and credibility, the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran is fully committed to its legal obligations with regard to its nuclear energy program.

Khazaei further criticized the ‘discriminatory, selective, restrictive and politically-motivated’ approach of the developed countries regarding nuclear cooperation.

“While a regime such as Israel has not joined the NPT (the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and has a program outside of nuclear safeguards, based on indisputable documents some Western powers like the US, Britain and France have helped the Zionist regime and this regime currently has one of the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world.”

Khazaei said Israel’s nuclear arsenal is “worrisome,” but the report of IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano makes no reference to the regime’s nuclear weapons program.

Referring to the anti-Iranian claims within the report, Khazaei said, “These claims are in fact fake and invalid reports and diagrams, and that is why the agency refuses to give them to Iran.”

“Given that most of the information [in the report on Iran] has been provided by the Zionist regime and its allies, it could be easily concluded that such data are as invalid as the childish caricature shown by Israel’s premier [Benjamin Netanyahu] at this assembly [UN General Assembly] in September.”

During his speech to the UN General Assembly in September, Netanyahu displayed a cartoon image of a sizzling bomb, claiming that Tehran would acquire military nuclear capability by next summer.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed NPT signatory and IAEA member, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.