IAEA resolution 'political and unconstructive': Iran

Iran's foreign ministry has called the adoption of a resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors meeting in Vienna on 8 June "political, erroneous and unconstructive."

The ministry said adoption of the resolution by the IAEA, which was proposed by France, Germany, the UK and the US was based on a "hasty and unbalanced report" by the body's director general Rafael Grossi and "fabricated information" provided by Israel, and warned it will "weaken the process of co-operation and interaction" between Tehran and the IAEA.

The resolution calls on Iran to resume full co-operation with the IAEA's monitoring of its nuclear activities. Even before the resolution was adopted, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization disabled two cameras that served the IAEA at an unspecified nuclear facility, and installed additional advanced centrifuges at the Natanz atomic facility.

The US, France, Germany and the UK "put their shortsighted agenda ahead of IAEA's credibility," Iran's foreign ministry said after the IAEA board's vote, promising "a firm and proportionate response."

The US and the European countries previously refrained from advocating for the IAEA resolution out of concern that Iran might walk away from talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. The US-Iranian indirect talks, facilitated by the EU, have stalled since March.

The US and its European allies have also shied away from referring the matter to the UN Security Council — a step that could potentially result in a permanent end to the Vienna talks — and said they would not take further action if the IAEA reports Iran has resolved its issues with nuclear monitoring.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the resolution condemning Iran will not end Washington's pursuit of a deal with Tehran to revive the JCPOA deal, which could lift US sanctions and facilitate a rise in Iranian crude exports. Tehran has not indicated it will end participation in the Vienna talks.

By Bachar Halabi