Second Vice President of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament Abbas Moqtadaei told IRNA on Sunday that the IAEA is expected to avoid being derailed from carrying out its inherent duties and issuing political resolutions to put pressure on the Islamic Republic.
As to the fact that the IAEA is working under the supervision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a service-providing entity, the Iranian legislator noted that the UN nuclear watchdog should not neglect its own responsibilities and articles of association and that the agency is not entitled to interfere in internal affairs of countries.
Iran has time and again allowed the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities or activate cameras in line with agreements in order to prove its good faith, the representative of Isfahan at parliament added.
The member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament also said that the Islamic Republic allowed the IAEA to install its cameras beyond Safeguards Agreements in a bid to show a higher level of cooperation, so the Agency was expected to show fairness, but the IAEA’s Board of Governors acts unfairly; thus, there is no need to continue the voluntarily collaborations.
The Western sides should learn that Iran is an independent country, which abides by international regulations, but no other country can misuse international bodies to put pressure on the Islamic Republic, he argued.
The inspectors and experts of the IAEA have repeatedly emphasized that Iran’s nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, he said, adding that the US and Europe pushed forward to approve the anti-Iran resolution in line with their policy to put more pressure on the Islamic country, while the IAEA was expected to stop being misused.
The parliament will pursue the implementation of the Law on Strategic Action for the Abolition of Sanctions and the Protection of the Interests of the Iranian Nation and the lawmakers will not allow the IAEA to ignore the Iranians’ interests, he said.
On Wednesday, the US and three European countries of Britain, Germany, and France offered an anti-Iran draft resolution to the IAEA BoG based on allegations made by the Zionist regime on Iranian nuclear activities.
The anti-Iran resolution was approved with 30 votes in favor, two votes against (Russia and China), and three abstentions (India, Libya, and Pakistan).
In reaction to the approval of the resolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran halted certain collaborations with the IAEA, which were beyond safeguards agreements and were conducted by Iranians to show their good faith.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) issued a statement on Thursday, declaring that the Islamic Republic has so far shown extensive cooperation with the IAEA, which has not been appreciated, so the AEOI decided that beyond safeguards cameras measuring On-Line Enrichment Monitor (OLEM) and flowmeter to be deactivated from today.
However, the AEOI emphasized that more than 80% of the cameras available by the agency are safeguards cameras, which will continue to operate.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that as a result of the unconstructive approach by the IAEA and the approval of the anti-Iran resolution, the Islamic Republic has taken reciprocal practices, including installment of advanced centrifuges and deactivation of ultra-safeguards cameras.
The European trio who are also signatories to the nuclear deal issued a joint statement to show their protest against Iran’s response, while they themselves are the ones who did not abide by their commitments under the JCPOA.
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