The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started its regular September meeting in Vienna on Monday, amid differences between the agency and Tehran over the investigation into the effects of uranium.
Russian ambassador to International Organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Twitter that the monitoring and guarantees for Iran, and the safety of the transfer of nuclear materials within the framework of the AUKUS agreement, as well as “security and guarantees in Ukraine” would be the central axes of the agency’s current session.
Iran News Daily ruled out the issuance of a decision by the IAEA to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council.
The newspaper suggested that the international agency would issue a warning, calling for further cooperation from the Iranian side.
It added: “We will not see a pessimistic scenario, in which Westerners waive the agreement.”
The Iranian daily pointed to concerns about the activation of the “snapback” mechanism, to restore international sanctions, if the current investigation continued.
The newspaper’s comment came after the Iranian Foreign Ministry criticized a statement by the European Troika, highlighting serious doubts about Iran’s intention to revive the nuclear agreement.
The statement referred to consultations over the best way to deal with the continuous Iranian nuclear escalation, and Tehran’s failure to cooperate with the international agency, regarding the binding obligations that are essential to the global non-proliferation regime.
“Unfortunately, Iran chose not to use a critical diplomatic opportunity and instead chose to continue escalating its nuclear program,” the statement read.
Noor News, which is a platform for the Supreme Council of Iranian National Security, decried the “opportunity”, saying that European Troika “talks about the sensitive opportunity, as if the energy and cold winter crisis was awaiting Iran, not Europe.”
Thirty-five countries of the IAEA Council of Governors are meeting this Monday in Vienna, three months after a decision to criticize Iran’s failure to provide answers to the agency regarding unannounced nuclear sites.
