Baqaei has reacted to comments made by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, about Iran’s increased capability to produce enriched uranium up to 60% purity.
Answering journalists’ questions regarding the issue, Baqaei said, “Mr. Grossi’s remarks pointed to the confrontational and unconstructive moves of the three European countries and the US in the Board of Governors, where they proposed and passed a resolution against Iran without any logical justification or legal basis”, referring to Britain, Germany, and France.
Highlighting Grossi’s recent visit to Tehran and the agreements made to step up technical cooperation between Iran and the atomic agency, Baqaei noted, “Mr. Grossi came to Iran with initiatives, but it was the three European countries and the United States that, by pursuing a policy of pressure and abusing the Board of Governors, rendered the director general’s efforts fruitless.”
Baqaei emphasized that Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is being pursued transparently and under IAEA supervision within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.
He also noted that recent activities were carried out with precise information provided to the IAEA and are under constant supervision of the agency.
IAEA’s Board of Governors on November 21 voted 19 to 3, with 12 abstentions, for a resolution, brought by Britain, France, and Germany (E3), that alleged Tehran had poor cooperation with the agency and requested a “comprehensive” report on its nuclear activities “at the latest” by spring 2025.
On November 27, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said the country had started injecting uranium gas into its advanced centrifuges following a recent anti-Tehran resolution by the UN nuclear agency’s Board of Governors.
In 2015, Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with six world powers.
However, Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.
In 2019, Iran started to roll back the limits it had accepted under the JCPOA after the other parties failed to live up to their commitments.
