Pezeshkian: IAEA Must Drop Double Standards for Iran to Resume Cooperation

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran will resume its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if double-standard policies regarding its nuclear program are dropped.

In a phone call on Wednesday, Pezeshkian and European Council President António Costa discussed the latest international developments, particularly the "Israeli" entity’s 12-day imposed war, and the future of relations between Iran and the European Union.

"The resumption of cooperation [with the IAEA] hinges on the correction of the double standards regarding Iran's nuclear case,” Pezeshkian said.

He reaffirmed Iran’s principled stance on proceeding with the path of constructive interaction and effective dialogue with the world, adding that Tehran is committed to regional and global peace and security.

Pezeshkian emphasized that a parliamentary law on suspension of Iran’s cooperation with the UN nuclear agency was a “reaction to the biased and unprofessional” performance of the agency’s director general.

The Iranian president warned that the agency’s lack of impartiality in its reports, its overlooking of attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and its silence in the face of violations of international law have undermined the IAEA’s credibility.

Late in June, Iran’s Constitutional Council approved a parliamentary bill on suspending cooperation with the IAEA after its report against Iran’s nuclear program became a lightning rod for the "Israeli" aggression on the Islamic Republic.

The bill cites the recent violations of Iran’s sovereignty and attacks on its territorial integrity in the wake of the US and "Israeli" aggression against the country’s peaceful nuclear facilities and its vital interests, and mandates the government to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA.

The suspension, the bill reads, will remain in effect until full assurances are provided regarding Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, particularly the security of its nuclear sites and scientists, as well as the Islamic Republic’s inherent rights under Article 4 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including its right to uranium enrichment.