Senior diplomat vows Iran will serve ‘decisive, immediate’ response to potential IAEA resolution

A senior Iranian diplomat says the Islamic Republic will deliver a “decisive and immediate” response if the United Nations nuclear agency issues a resolution against the country.

“[Iran’s] atomic energy organization is prepared for implementation of whatever decision that could be adopted [in the face of such a resolution] at the same hour of the resolution’s ratification,” Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said on Wednesday.

He said the Islamic Republic’s reaction would affect the technical areas of its nuclear energy program and involve feeding gas to the country’s advanced centrifuges.

“Such a measure by Iran is, in fact, a response to the unconstructive approach adopted by these few countries and their refusal to pay attention to Iran’s good will,” the official noted, referring to the European countries that submitted a new anti-Iran resolution to the IAEA ahead of a meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors earlier on Wednesday.

The United States and its European allies have been taking numerous similar measures against Iran in line with their accusation against the Islamic Republic of alleged insufficient cooperation with the agency that runs counter to the standing status of the country and the body’s cooperation, which has even increased in frequency and quality over the past years.

“The Islamic Republic believes that Western countries should not use international organizations, including the agency, as political instruments,” Gharibabadi stated.

He reminded that the same countries were providing the apartheid Israeli regime with “complete and all-out support,” preventing international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, from ratifying a resolution that could bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the regime has been waging a genocidal war for more than 13 months.

By doing so, the Western countries had “paved the way for continuation of the genocide of the Palestinian people,” the diplomat regretted.

He said, despite the IAEA’s insistence on protection of the ongoing interactional atmosphere governing Iran’s dealings with the agency, and its repeated calls on the European trio of the UK, France, and Germany to avoid adopting a confrontational attitude towards the Islamic Republic, the trio had “chosen another course, trying to act as the agency’s Secretariat and posing themselves as the ones, who are [actually] in the correct position.”

The official, however, said Iran preferred to continue leading its “policy of interaction” with the IAEA, noting that adopting the same approach, the Islamic Republic prompted the recent trip to the country by the IAEA’s Director General Rafael Grossi to take place in “a positive and constructive atmosphere.”

IAEA chief says had ‘constructive’ talks with Iranian officials in Tehran

Rafael Grossi says he recently had “constructive” talks with Iranian officials in Tehran and hopes such interaction continues in the future.

Gharibabadi cited Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as noting how the country and the agency had outlined the course of their cooperation throughout the next year during the visit.

Earlier on Wednesday, Araghchi spoke with Grossi on the phone, similarly addressing the contents of the recent visit, and noting that the agreements that had been made during the trip once again proved the Islamic Republic’s good will and its intention towards enhancing its interactions and cooperation with the agency.

Both Araghchi and Grossi, meanwhile, underlined their respective side’s intention towards continuation of the course of dialog and interaction with the aim of resolution of standing differences and prevention of adoption of unconstructive and confrontational approaches.

The top diplomat, however, warned, meanwhile, that the IAEA’s potential targeting of the country with “unconstructive measures” would be met with a “proportionate response” on the part of the Islamic Republic.

Iran warns of 'proportionate' response as Europe submits IAEA resolution

Iran warns the IAEA that its potential targeting of the country with “unconstructive measures” will be met with a “proportionate response.”

“If the opposite parties placed unconstructive measures on the agenda during the [Wednesday] meeting of [the IAEA’s] Board of Governors through issuance of a resolution [against Iran] regardless of the Islamic Republic’s good will and interactive approach, the country would respond in a required and proportionate manner,” Araghchi said.

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