FM: Iran Rejects Coercion, Stands by Rule of Law

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that Iran is answerable only to “the rule of law, not coercion,” commenting on the scheduled legal expiration of all nuclear restrictions on the Islamic Republic.

The top diplomat made the remarks in a post on X, former Twitter, on Friday.

He noted that Saturday would mark the expiration date of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between the country and others, therefore imposing the restrictions.

Upon expiration, the official said, Iran would legally be removed from the Security Council’s agenda.

The development will allow the Islamic Republic to increase its peaceful nuclear energy activities within the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT].

“As an NPT signatory, Iran will remain bound solely to its rights and obligations under the Treaty,” Araghchi likewise said.

“This includes no limits whatsoever on the scale of its nuclear program.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]’s inspections of the country’s nuclear program too would be confined to the agency’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and not beyond that, he added.

Additionally, Iran’s cooperation with the agency would be subject to a legislation passed unanimously by Majlis [the Iranian Parliament] that has required suspension of all cooperation with the body following an unlawful and unprovoked "Israeli"-US war on the Iranian soil, the foreign minister said.

The legislation has conditioned resumption of cooperation with the IAEA on ensuring the safety and security of the country’s nuclear facilities and scientists. It has also demanded respect for Iran’s right to peaceful enrichment activities inside the country’s soil.

The agency has so far stopped short of meeting the dual requirements.

Araghchi noted how countries of the Non-Aligned Movement [NAM], which met in Uganda on Thursday, voiced support for the Islamic Republic in its opposing the unlawful re-imposition of the Security Council’s sanctions against Iran late last month.

The sanctions were restored after the European trio of the UK, France, and Germany illegally triggered Resolution 2231’s so-called “snapback” mechanism.

In doing so, the trio accused Iran of “diversion” of its nuclear activities, while sidestepping their own sheer non-commitment to the resolution that had mandated them not to stop their trade with Iran.

Araghchi hailed the NAM summit for “recognizing reality.”

He denounced the European states’ actions as “unlawful measures pursued by a handful of isolated governments, reiterating that those measures “have been rejected by a vast majority of nations.”

“Those who insist on distorting reality will only further isolate themselves with their current path,” the foreign minister stated, concluding, “The rule of law — not coercion — must prevail.”