TEHRAN – Iran announced on Friday that it has decided to defer consideration of a draft resolution aimed at prohibiting attacks and threats of attack against nuclear facilities, noting that the move was taken to counter the unlawful pressure and intimidation exerted by the United States on the IAEA General Conference.

Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN noted that while the majority of member states had expressed readiness to support Iran’s draft resolution, many faced threats of retribution, prompting the deferment to safeguard the integrity of the decision-making process.

On Thursday, Iran’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Reza Najafi, addressed Iran’s proposed resolution calling for a ban on attacks against peaceful nuclear facilities. He revealed that while many IAEA member states condemned Israel’s recent military actions, several—despite close relations with Iran and other co-sponsors—reported being subjected to “intense pressure and threats” from the United States to withhold support.

According to Najafi, these states clarified that their abstentions did not reflect their true positions. Instead, they appealed to Iran and its partners to postpone advancing the resolution until next year’s General Conference.

Speaking at the IAEA General Conference under an agenda item proposed by Iran titled “Prohibition of All Forms of Attack and Threat of Attack Against Nuclear Facilities under Agency Safeguards,”, Najafi condemned the “criminal act” of the United States and Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, warning that indifference toward such violations would have serious consequences for international peace and security.

He stressed that unlawful military strikes on safeguarded nuclear sites not only undermine states’ legitimate rights to the peaceful use of nuclear energy but also directly damage the credibility of the Agency’s safeguards system. “This is a matter of utmost seriousness. The world must send a clear message that such illegal attacks cannot and will not be tolerated,” Najafi said.

Najafi welcomed countries, particularly members of the Non-Aligned Movement, that condemned the aggression, praising their responsible stance. He demanded that both the U.S. and Israel be held accountable for their “gross violations” of international law and the non-proliferation regime.

He reminded the conference that the UN Charter explicitly prohibits the threat or use of force, stressing that no interpretation could justify premeditated military strikes on nuclear sites under IAEA safeguards. He added that such actions contradict both IAEA General Conference resolutions and the 2010 NPT Review Conference, which emphasized the prohibition of attacks on safeguarded facilities.

“Inaction in the face of such aggression cannot be equated with neutrality,” he warned. “It only normalizes unlawful behavior and encourages its repetition. Peaceful nuclear facilities—meant to symbolize transparency and trust—would instead become military targets, putting the entire non-proliferation regime at grave risk.”

Iran has repeatedly raised alarm at international forums over U.S. and Israeli violations of international law through military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Tehran insists its nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful and argues that failure to hold Washington and Tel Aviv accountable risks creating a dangerous precedent for other conflicts.

The debate over Iran’s resolution comes amid heightened tensions following Israel’s large-scale military assault on Iran in June, which included strikes on nuclear sites and was backed by the United States.