WANA  (Nov 21) – In an official statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors’ newly adopted resolution on the country’s nuclear program as “illegal, unjustified, and driven by political pressure,” stressing that the Agency has no authority to reinstate Security Council resolutions that have already been closed.

 

The statement came after the draft resolution proposed by the three European countries together with the United States was adopted yesterday with 19 votes in favor.

 

According to the statement, Tehran views the role of the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom in drafting and pushing the resolution as “a clear indication of their irresponsible approach and instrumental use of the Agency.” The Foreign Ministry added that the new measure was adopted without the support of nearly half of the Board’s members and in the face of opposition from Russia and China—two permanent members of the UN Security Council—and that it undermines key principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.

 

The statement further argues that the Board of Governors has no legal authority to reintroduce lapsed Security Council resolutions and that attempts by several Western states to imply such a mandate amount to “behavior inconsistent with the Agency’s procedures and regulations.” Tehran warned that repeated actions resembling “snapback” mechanisms could lead to “legal disorder” and further weaken international non-proliferation structures.

 

The Foreign Ministry also described the content of the resolution as “a reflection of U.S. political pressure and the duplicitous conduct of the three European countries,” arguing that the text deliberately omits any reference to the role of U.S. and Israeli military attacks in disrupting certain verification activities in Iran—despite the fact that, according to Tehran, the IAEA Director General explicitly acknowledged this in his latest report.

 

Another part of the statement identifies the United States as “the primary source of the decade-long crises surrounding Iran’s nuclear file,” while the three European states are criticized both for “violating their JCPOA commitments” and for “complicity in attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.” The Ministry accuses the four countries of “distorting the facts” within the Board of Governors.

 

According to Tehran, the latest Western move has disrupted recent cooperation between Iran and the Agency and compelled the Islamic Republic to declare the termination of the September 9 understanding—an arrangement that Iran says had established a framework for resuming certain inspections at nuclear facilities.

 

The statement also reiterates Iran’s declared opposition to weapons of mass destruction and describes Israel as “the greatest threat to global peace and security,” arguing that the U.S. and the three European states, by ignoring Israel’s nuclear arsenal, make themselves “accomplices” to regional instability.

 

In conclusion, the Foreign Ministry expressed appreciation to the countries that voted against or abstained on the resolution and emphasized that Iran “will take every necessary measure to safeguard the rights and interests of the Iranian nation regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”