London, IRNA – Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for the verifiable lifting of U.S. sanctions, stressing that a pressure campaign to force the Islamic Republic to unilaterally implement nuclear-related commitments is both ineffective and counterproductive.
Addressing a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday, Mohsen Naziri-Asl said that some nuclear weapon states were undermining “the fundamental principles of the United Nations” and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) through their policies and unilateral actions.
He called on the IAEA to be impartial and support member states. “In the 21st century, the agency is expected to help promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy without discrimination, as set out in its Statute, and should make all necessary efforts to strengthen non-proliferation in all its dimensions.”
The envoy reiterated that Iran is committed to the NPT and rejected Western accusations against the country’s peaceful nuclear program. The Islamic Republic, based on its strong ideological and strategic principles, resolutely rejects weapons of mass destruction (WMD), especially nuclear weapons, as obsolete, inhumane, and harmful to international peace and security, he said.
Referring to Iran’s “remedial measures” following non-compliance by the United States and European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, Naziri-Asl said Tehran would reverse those measures once sanctions were lifted.
He emphasized that the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), resulted from years of negotiations and was founded on mutual commitments between Iran and the E3/EU+3 group.
The agreement not only ensured the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program but also led to the removal of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the EU, in accordance with UN resolutions, he added.
Naziri-Asl said that the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 was a gross violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrines the deal.
He noted that it was only after the U.S. withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions, along with European inaction, that Iran exercised its right to invoke the dispute mechanism under the JCPOA and began reducing its commitments.
“It is regrettable that the Troika, the European Union, and the United States systematically tried to present a false narrative on this issue,” he added.
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