Iran to respond to new resolution with ‘fundamental review’ of policies: Deputy FM

 

A senior Iranian diplomat says Tehran will carry out a “fundamental review” of its approaches if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors adopts a new resolution against the country.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, made the remarks on Sunday in reaction to the European troika — France, Britain, and Germany — submitting a new resolution against Iran to the Board of Governors meeting next week.

“I hope they (E3) choose rationality and do not formally present the resolution, but if they do, Iran will certainly conduct a fundamental review of its policies,” Gharibabadi said.

He added that the adoption of the resolution will certainly change the situation.

“If they do not value interaction and cooperation, Iran will make fundamental revisions to its approaches,” he stressed.

He added that the three European countries have removed themselves from dialogue and diplomacy with Iran by triggering the snapback mechanism, reinstating UN sanctions on Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

Gharibabadi, who is also a member of the Iranian negotiating team, emphasized that the European troika did not achieve what they had desired by activating the snapback, as the majority of the international community did not support the move.

He criticized certain countries for remaining silent and even throwing their weight behind the acts of aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June.

“However, Iran showed goodwill and continued its interactions with the IAEA regarding the facilities that were not attacked,” he emphasized.

On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked war against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.

More than a week later, the United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Gharibabadi further explained that following the activation of the snapback mechanism, the Cairo agreement, reached between Iran and the IAEA, was completely set aside.

Iran chose not to cooperate with the IAEA within the framework of the Cairo agreement, he noted.

The diplomat emphasized that Iran needs to reassess its policies on interaction with the IAEA and issues pertaining to the NPT.

On September 9, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reached an agreement on practical modalities to resume cooperation after a meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

It came after the Iranian Parliament unanimously passed legislation requiring the administration to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA following the Israeli-US aggression against three nuclear sites.