Iran Press/ Europe: Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Kazem Gharibabadi, made the remarks in his report on Thursday to the seasonal meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He said that "The fact that 22 percent of the Agency’s global inspections alone is conducted in Iran, shows that Iran has the most transparent peaceful nuclear program among the Agency’s Member States. Although the Agency is supposed to focus on the current activities, however, Iran has voluntarily accepted the request by the IAEA to address possible safeguards issues.
Gharibabadi stressed that the Director General’s current report depicts the extra-miles which both Iran and the international body have taken to reach a common understanding of the issues at hand and to find satisfactory resolutions for them. We, both, are in agreement that in order to overcome possible impediments, a conducive environment should be established for it first, which certainly comes out of mutual good-faith. The current extensive level of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA has not been achieved easily, and we shouldn’t allow it to be diminished simply by imprudent political interests of few."
He said it was "noteworthy that the same legal instruments which entitle the IAEA to enjoy certain rights, also identify the boundaries and limitations for the assumption of such rights. In this regard, questions or requests by the body should be based on convincing underlying reasons, and independent information and findings. Also, the Member States of the Agency should seriously avoid exerting any pressure against it for preserving its integrity. By considering such limitations and refraining from basing the questions and requests on allegations and fabricated documents, the grounds were ready for cooperation between Iran and IAEA. In this line, IAEA has considered and analyzed information available to it till now, therefore, does not have any further questions or requests for access to locations other than those declared by Iran."
Furthermore, he went on "to emphasize that since few adversaries of the JCPOA could not find any issues in the recent years to destroy the JCPOA and cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, they have tried in vain to build their arguments upon unfounded, baseless allegations. Nevertheless, it is upon the Board of Governors and the Agency’s Secretariat to show necessary wisdom and foresight to avoid getting entangled in their mischief."
"It should be noted that the issues under consideration are related to the Additional Protocol in terms of requests for access; and, one should not lose sight of the fact that this Protocol is provisionally and voluntarily applied by the Islamic Republic of Iran due to the JCPOA. Accordingly, I would like to note that, as quite often reiterated by the Non-Aligned Movement, there should be a clear distinction between legal obligations of Member States under their respective safeguards agreements and their voluntary undertakings, in order to ensure that such voluntary undertakings are not turned into legal safeguards obligations. In view of this, pending the resolution of these issues, they should be addressed within ongoing interaction between Iran and the Agency; therefore, there is no need for further regular reporting to the Board," he added.
The Iranian official further stressed that "The Islamic Republic of Iran places great importance on nuclear security. Referring to the recent explosion in Shahid Ahmadi Roushan nuclear facility (Natanz) which was the result of sabotage as already declared. We warn against any such reckless and dangerous adventurism. Such malicious acts should be condemned strongly by the IAEA and its Member States. In several General Conference resolutions, it is highlighted that any armed attack and threat against nuclear facilities dedicated for peaceful purposes and are under the IAEA safeguards, is considered as the gross violation of the provisions of the UN Charter, international law, and the Statute of the Agency. In addition to protecting its nuclear facilities in any way it deems necessary, Iran reserves its right to take appropriate actions against such threats. I would also like to emphasize that such malicious acts will not negatively affect Iran’s nuclear program, but will only serve as an incentive to accelerate its development.
"For many years, the US and regime of Israel are speaking about the possibility of an Iranian nuclear bomb and so-called Iran’s clandestine nuclear activities, to divert the attention of the international community and the Agency. Despite this, so far, there is no news about such a fantasy bomb, rather Iran has shown to be the most transparent country with accepting more than one-fifth of the total inspections of the Agency.
Iran has also expressed its strong position against nuclear weapons and the necessity of their total elimination. On the contrary, the US is equipped with more than 6200 nuclear warheads, which is around half of the total nuclear weapons in the world, which is sufficient to destroy the world several times. It seems as if the US is not only considering other countries on this planet as an enemy but also has drawn hypothetical enemies in other planets for itself. Furthermore, the US is spending billions of dollars over the development and renovation of its nuclear weapons, and thanks to the NPT is exempted from any kind of verification and monitoring."
Gharibabadi also noted that "The US not only is not taking steps in the implementation of its obligation under Article VI of the NPT for disarmament but also is sharing such weapons with others in complete breach of its obligations under Article I of the Treaty. Considering such facts along with the past history of using nuclear weapons by the US against the innocent people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as maintaining the option of using such inhuman and destructive weapons in the Nuclear Posture Review of the US, turn the US into the most dangerous country in the world.
On the other hand, the regime of Israel is the only non-party to the NPT in the Middle East and has not acceded to any of the instruments related to weapons of mass-destruction and continues to be the greatest security concern in the region. This regime has all categories of weapons of mass destruction, has rejected the repeated requests of the international community and the Agency for accepting the IAEA safeguards inspections, and frequently threatens or attacks its neighbors."
Distinguished Members of the Agency! Who is the real threat? Indeed, it is not Iran. You don’t have to go far, just take a look at the continuous IAEA reports, which are talking about monitoring Iran’s nuclear program and its compliance with the obligations. To uphold the safeguards regime and the Agency’s integrity, the international community should not keep silent about the nuclear status of the US and Israeli regime and their threats to regional and international peace and security," he went on the note.
"To conclude," Gharibabadi said, "my delegation would like to reiterate its confidence that the implementation of the verification activities requires both sides to cooperate in good faith. “Respect” and “trust” are established in during along period of time, but could be shattered in a matter of seconds. In this context, the Agency is highly expected to continue to carry out its mandate in a professional, independent, and impartial manner away from any undue pressure or interference."
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