Iran Says Ready to Continue IAEA Cooperation If Its Rights Respected

Iran’s ambassador to Vienna-based international organizations said Tehran is prepared to continue cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as long as its security, rights, and legitimate interests are fully respected.

News ID: 2001864

Speaking at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting under the safeguards implementation agenda, held in Vienna on Wednesday, Reza Najafi said Iran had maintained the highest level of transparency and cooperation until the time of the illegal Israeli and American attacks on its nuclear facilities.

He cited the UN nuclear agency’s statistics showing that over 72 percent of all IAEA verification activities in safeguards-implementing countries occur in Iran, and that more than 22 percent of all inspections in 2024 focused on Iranian facilities, which account for only three percent of global capacity.

Najafi stated that the IAEA Director General’s official June 2025 report, issued prior to the recent attacks, made no reference to nuclear material diversion or non-compliance, while even the US intelligence acknowledged the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

Despite this, he said, the US and three European countries adopted a “political resolution” against Iran at the June session.

He also condemned the US president’s admission of responsibility for the military attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear sites, calling it a violation of international law and a serious blow to the credibility of the NPT and the non-proliferation regime.

Najafi also criticized provocative statements from some European officials, including the German chancellor, who characterized Israel’s attacks as “doing the dirty work,” noting that such remarks amount to open support for aggression against peaceful nuclear facilities.

Najafi explained that, despite these exceptional circumstances and threats, Iran continued to act in good faith with the IAEA, culminating in a draft agreement finalized after technical negotiations in Tehran and Vienna and signed in Cairo by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi.

He stressed that Iran is ready to continue cooperation with the UN nuclear agency within the framework of the Iranian law, provided that its security and legitimate rights and interests are fully observed in line with the safeguards agreements and the current special conditions.

The envoy warned that illegal actions, including repeated attacks or reinstatement of revoked resolutions, could halt Iran’s implementation of the practical measures agreed upon in Cairo./tasnim