‘IAEA, US two blades of same pairs of scissors against Iran’

The United Sates and the UN atomic agency are working in tandem to pile more pressure on Iran over the standoff with Iran’s nuclear case, a veteran Iranian diplomat says.

In an interview with Iran’s Radio Goftogoo on Saturday, former Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamidreza Asefi, said, “The agency and the US are two blades of the same pair of scissors that put us under pressure from both sides,” referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He deplored a recent anti-Iran resolution by the IAEA’s Board of Governors that was approved by 30 votes in favor, three abstentions, and two against.

Asefi said the Iranian Foreign Ministry needs to shed a clear light on the Islamic Republic’s ties with countries like Senegal, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates who voted for the resolution against Tehran.

He also said the IAEA openly departed from impartiality as the agency’s chief Rafael Grossi traveled to Israel and met with Israeli premier Naftali Bennett, ahead of the nuclear body’s Board of Governors meeting on Monday.

Asefi said the UN nuclear agency needs to be cautious not to allow the US and Israel to use it as a tool and influence its independence in decision-making.

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