News- Middle East: Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly condemned the European troika – Britain, France and Germany - and the United States for instrumentally using the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to question the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Baghaei’s comments came hours after the 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution accusing Iran of “non-compliance” with its nuclear obligations.

The resolution, drafted by the US, Britain, France and Germany, was passed with 19 votes in favor, three against, and 11 abstentions. Russia, China, and Burkina Faso voted against it. Among the countries that abstained were South Africa, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, and Brazil.

Baghaei categorically rejected the claims contained in the IAEA Board of Governors resolution, adopted upon the joint proposal of the European troika and the US, based on a politically-motivated report by the IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi.

He denounced the anti-Iran move as “unjustified, baseless, and cruel, designed and executed to put pressure on Iran so that it to abandon the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian nation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman also held the initiators and designers of such an unfair and destructive action responsible for its consequences, stressing that the Islamic Republic will take appropriate retaliatory measures in response to this action in order to safeguard the interests and rights of the Iranian nation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Baghaei further rejected as “completely unfounded and fabricated” the claim of Iran’s non-compliance with its obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, noting that this allegation per se reveals the insincerity and bad faith of the drafters of this resolution, because even the entirely political report of the IAEA Director General did not raise such a claim.

He also touched on the long history of severe misconduct by the European troika and the US in confronting Iran and obstructing the scientific and economic development of the Iranian nation, including peaceful nuclear technology.

“For more than two decades, the United States and these three European countries, under the deceptive pretext of ‘concern’ over the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, have subjected the great and free Iranian nation to unlawful sanctions and unjustified threats,” Baghaei stressed.

He also emphasized that despite “Iran’s comprehensive cooperation to remove any suspicion in this regard, including through the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they have repeatedly tried to halt or slow Iran’s nuclear program under various pretexts".

"However, the Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on the talents and motivation of Iranian youth, has turned these challenges and pressures into an opportunity to strengthen and consolidate indigenous nuclear technology.”

Baghaei also expressed regret over Grossi’s biased move regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, which has manifested in “misleading claims in his recent report and provocative interviews about Iran’s nuclear program.”

Grossi is directly accountable for undermining the professional credibility of the IAEA, Baghaei stressed, calling on the IAEA chief to adhere to the agency’s mission, to function according to its statute, and to refrain from political behavior.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman also appreciated the six countries - China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Belarus - which issued a joint statement expressing their responsible and legal positions in rejecting the anti-Iran resolution.

Baghaei also thanked all countries that opposed the resolution by voting against or abstaining, thereby showing their disapproval of the instrumentalization of the IAEA Board of Governors by the four Western countries, emphasizing the determination of the Iranian nation to protect its rights and interests according to the United Nations Charter and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Earlier in the day, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement, condemning it for being “politically-motivated.”

Furthermore, Mohammad Eslami, AEOI’s chief, stressed that the sole purpose of the “anti-Iran” resolution is aimed at pressuring Tehran into giving concessions.

The 2015 nuclear deal, which stipulated the suspension of anti-Iran sanctions in return for confidence-building restrictions on Tehran's nuclear work, was derailed by the unilateral US withdrawal in 2018.

Iran waited for over a year for the three European parties to the accord to make up for the US withdrawal, but to no avail.

Source: Press TV