Russia held European powers directly responsible for escalating Israeli hostilities against Iran, slamming them for politicizing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and aiding in the violation of international law.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that European leaders pressured IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi into issuing a accusatory report on Iran’s nuclear program shortly before the Israeli regime launched attacks against Iranian targets.
Speaking at the Primakov Forum in Moscow, Lavrov stated, “The Europeans have taken a purely neocolonial position... They were actively preparing Grossi so that he would put the most ambiguously negative formulations into his report.”
Lavrov emphasized that the UK, France, Germany, and later the United States, used the IAEA’s manipulated findings to push an anti-Iran resolution through the agency’s Board of Governors, falsely accusing Iran of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Despite Iran’s consistent position that its uranium enrichment program is peaceful, the Board passed a resolution on June 12 condemning the country. Within days, Israel carried out coordinated military strikes inside Iran, targeting nuclear scientists, senior military figures, and civilian infrastructure — including the Natanz nuclear facility.
On Sunday, the United States intensified the escalation by bombing nuclear sites in Natanz, Fordow, and Esfahan, in a move that violates the UN Charter, the NPT, and international law.
Grossi has not condemned these illegal acts, drawing strong objections from Tehran. Iranian authorities have since complained against Grossi for taking sides and turning a blind eye to Israel’s aggression on Iran’s nuclear energy facilities.
Russia’s top diplomat pointed out that Western powers have effectively “privatized” international institutions and are using them as tools for geopolitical pressure.
“The West exerts very serious influence on international organizations, and has even privatized them to an extent,” Lavrov said.
“Most such bodies are no longer guided by the requirement of impartiality.”
Lavrov further warned that if the IAEA is allowed to inspect Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, the concern is that this information could be leaked, as there are no confidentiality safeguards in place now.
“IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi could have provided a more precise report,” he said.
“But where are the assurances that this information won’t be leaked? I see no such safeguards.”
He criticized Grossi’s demand for immediate access to Iranian sites, questioning the agency’s ability to protect sensitive data from hostile intelligence services.
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Iran suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) comes as Tehran realizes that there is simply no benefit on continuing it, Foad Izadi, associate professor at the University of Tehran said.
ReplyDelete"Iranian lawmakers realize that being a member of NPT has no value for Iran. There is no logical reason for Iran to be a member of NPT," he says
While attacking nuclear sites, especially those under the IAEA supervision, is illegal under international law, that did not deter Israel and the US from attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities, Izadi points out.
Hence the question: why work with the IAEA at all?
“IAEA has a budget of $35 million, and $22 million out of that $35 million is spent inspecting Iran. So, by suspending the link, Iran is actually saving IAEA money,” Izadi remarks.
The Iranian parliament has approved a bill to suspend Tehran's cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Alireza Salimi, an official representative of the Iranian parliament presiding board, said on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteGeneral provisions and details of the bill on suspension of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA approved by the parliament," Salimi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.