Iran will react if IAEA Board adopts negative resolution

TEHRAN: Tehran will respond appropriately in case the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issues a resolution against Iran for suspending the implementation of the Additional Protocol that allowed the IAEA to carry out short-notice inspections, says the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI).

“If the Board of Governors (of the IAEA) adopts a resolution against Iran, we will show an appropriate reaction,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, just a day before the IAEA’s governing board is supposed to convene for a session on Iran on Monday.Iran’s nuclear chief further added that Tehran has sent a letter to the nuclear watchdog, informing the international body of this issue.

Iran has stopped its voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol under the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, a law passed in December by the Parliament.According to the move, any footage recorded by cameras at Iran’s nuclear sites will no longer be shared with the IAEA, but will be retained by Iran for three months, after which they will be permanently deleted if the US sanctions are still in place.

The IAEA Board of Governors is slated to convene its regular March meeting tomorrow to discuss a range of issues, including its verification and monitoring activities in Iran and the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the country, according to the UN nuclear watchdog’s website. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Tehran ahead of the Additional Protocol halt to discuss issues surrounding the move.

During his visit, Iran and the IAEA agreed to continue cooperation while the Iranian administration goes ahead with the implementation of the December law. Their joint statement also contained a confidential technical annex, which Iran said contained a list of its key nuclear facilities. “The annex to the statement is confidential … and given the detailed information contained in the annex, including the list of (Iran’s nuclear) facilities and surveillance cameras, and due to security considerations and the need for keeping secret the exact location of Iran’s key facilities, the annex will remain confidential,” Salehi explained.

Iran and six world powers, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, reached an agreement in 2015 over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was unilaterally abandoned by Washington in 2018 despite global objections.