Iranian diplomat calls IAEA statement ‘shameful’

AL-MONITOR Staff

Sep 15, 2022

Newspaper stall with a view of Etemad newspaper's front page bearing a title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA," — A picture shows a newspaper stall with a view of Etemad newspaper's front page bearing a title reading in Farsi "The night of the end of the JCPOA," and cover photos of Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, his deputy and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, in Tehran on Aug. 16, 2022. — ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

A top Iranian diplomat has lashed out at the US and Europe after two-thirds of the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors endorsed a resolution pressuring Tehran.

What happened: In 2019, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it found traces of uranium at undeclared sites in Iran. The Islamic Republic subsequently said that it explained the discovery, but the United Nations-affiliated nuclear watchdog remains unconvinced.

In June, the IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a resolution expressing concern that the uranium traces remain unexplained. This was the first censure by the IAEA of Iran since 2020. On Wednesday, a majority of the member states on the board endorsed a nonbinding statement from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France further pressing Iran on the issue, Reuters reported.

There are 35 members of the Board of Governors this year, including all five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Iranian diplomat calls IAEA statement ‘shameful’

The United States and its European allies want answers from Iran regarding uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

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