Iran: US Call for IAEA Meeting ‘Big Irony in History of Diplomacy’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi described the US request for a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on the 2015 nuclear deal as “a big irony in the history of diplomacy” as the US is the one that has violated the accord.
Speaking at the fifth round of political consultations between Iran and Belarus in Tehran on Wednesday, attended by Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Dapkiunas, Araqchi pointed to the US call for a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors, and described it as “a big irony in the history of diplomacy”.
He noted that the meeting was not welcomed by any country, even the US allies.
Araqchi said the US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, and its behaviors toward the Islamic Republic threaten not only regional peace and security but also the international community.
“It is necessary that all countries counter such an approach,” the Iranian deputy foreign minister stressed.
The Belarusian diplomat, for his part, hailed the age-old relations between Tehran and Minsk and underlined the sensitivity of the current situation for global and regional peace and security.
Increased tension and insecurity in the Middle East threaten not only the regional states but also other countries in Europe and the rest of the world, he added.
The IAEA held a special meeting earlier on Wednesday at Washington’s request to win the Board of Governors’ support for its anti-Iran claims about the JCPOA.
The emergency meeting of the 35-member Board of Governors of the IAEA was held in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, which wrapped up with no conclusion.
The meeting came a few days after Iran increased the level of its uranium enrichment to 4.5%, which is beyond the limit set by the nuclear deal, Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The move was part of the second phase of the country’s May 8 decision to reduce its commitments under the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal in reaction to the US violations and Europe’s inaction.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA, but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.