China Slams Western Anti-Iran Resolution At IAEA Board

 China’s permanent representative to the IAEA, Li Song, said Thursday at the meeting that force, pressure and provocation will not solve the Iran nuclear issue.

He stressed that “only political and diplomatic efforts and safeguards cooperation within the IAEA framework” can lead to a proper resolution.

Li stated that Israel and the United States “brazenly attacked” Iranian nuclear facilities under IAEA supervision in June, causing a major negative shift in the situation, and said such actions must be firmly condemned by the international community and the IAEA.

He recalled that in September, Iran and the IAEA reached an agreement in Cairo to resume cooperation. According to him, this was a positive opportunity to rebuild trust and oversight.

However, Britain, France and Germany undermined this process by pushing the snapback mechanism and reviving the path of sanctions and confrontation.

Li said countries that “wantonly used force and obsessively pursued confrontation and pressure” are responsible for the current deadlock.

He added that Iran’s legitimate right under the NPT to peacefully use nuclear energy must be fully respected and its peaceful nuclear nature preserved.

He called on the Board of Governors to avoid fueling tensions and instead create favorable conditions for cooperation and dialogue between Iran and IAEA and for a new round of political and diplomatic efforts on the Iran nuclear issue, and avoid provoking confrontation.

At the vote on the Western resolution, China, Russia and Niger voted against it. Twelve developing countries, including Brazil, South Africa, India, Egypt and Thailand, abstained. The resolution was jointly proposed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

The vote took place among the 34 member states with voting rights at the IAEA Board of Governors.

Xinhua reported that the resolution followed Western pressure despite ongoing Iranian-IAEA engagement efforts.

Iran and the United States were set for a sixth round of nuclear talks when Israel launched major surprise airstrikes on several areas in Iran, including nuclear military sites as well as civilian neighborhoods, on June 13. On June 22, US forces joined the attacks by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities./tasnim