Iran’s Foreign Ministry has described the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors’ resolution as “anti-Iranian,” warning that Tehran would respond with unspecified retaliatory measures, according to the Associated Press.
IAEA Resolution
On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution demanding that Iran submit “without delay” the status of its enriched-uranium stockpile and its bombed nuclear sites.
The resolution seeks basically to renew and refine the International Atomic Energy Agency’s mandate to monitor key aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.
However, the IAEA also explained that Tehran must swiftly grant the IAEA the information and access it has been seeking, five months after Israel and US attacked Iranian nuclear sites.
Countermeasures
In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that his country had notified the IAEA in a letter that, in addition to scrapping the agreement reached in Cairo over the summer, Tehran could take “other actions” in response to Thursday’s resolution.
Baghaei did not clarify or detail what further actions Iran would take. However, the decision of further uranium enrichment by the country is still possible.
Iran & IAEA Relations
Notably, Tehran cut off its relations with the UN Nuclear Watchdog after Israel attacked the country in June.
In September, IAEA Director-Genral Rafael Mariano Grossi reached an agreement with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo to resume cooperation and inspections.
The resolution has received 19 votes in favor, three against, and 12 abstentions. The countries that rejected the resolution were Russia, China and Niger.
Iran argued that the resolution has ignored a significant issue that Iran halted inspections only after Israel and the US launched strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the IAEA of providing Israel with a pretext for its bombing campaign, noting that Israeli attacks began the day after the agency’s board voted to declare Tehran in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Snapback Sanctions
On September 28, the European powers_ Britain, France, and Germany_ reimposed sanctions on Tehran after they claimed that Iran has violated a 2015 deal that aimed at halting it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran has denied this accusation and said that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
This resolution is anticipated to spark further tensions between the IAEA and Iran, especially when it comes to the fact that Tehran has sharply retaliated against similar moves in the past.
Related Topics:
Iran No Longer Enriching Uranium, Says Foreign Minister
Iran Says IAEA Inspectors Visited Nuclear Sites Last Week
US, Israel Accuse Iran of Plot to Assassinate Israeli Envoy in Mexico
