TEHRAN — Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations has said Tehran will soon legally pursue the leakage of a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Iran’s objections and legal proceedings against the Agency in the field of protecting confidential information have a history of more than two decades,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview with IRINN on Saturday.

“At various times, based on our country’s commitments and the mission given to the Agency by the Board of Governors, the Agency has prepared reports on the verification of the implementation of the obligations and submitted them to the Board of Governors,” Gharibabadi stated.

He further explained that for a long time “the Agency’s safeguard reports, which were also very detailed, were prepared and distributed among the members, and in the last five years, the reports on Barjam (nuclear deal) have been replaced.”

He added that there are two problems along the way, namely the extent of details of safeguards activities that should be reflected in these reports, and the flawed mechanism for informing the members of the Agency.

“These reports are leaked to the media before they are declassified,” Gharibabadi lamented.

The Iranian ambassador emphasized that all safeguards and nuclear deal reports, as well as Iran’s correspondence with the IAEA and vice versa, are confidential. 

He reiterated that the primary responsibility for protecting confidential information lies with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

The remarks came after Reuters reported that Iran plans to install hundreds more advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground plant at Natanz.

Citing a confidential IAEA report on Friday, Reuters said Iran plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the underground plant at Natanz.

Soon after the leakage on Friday, Gharibabadi called on the IAEA to ensure confidentiality of safeguards information.

“@iaeaorg confidential report, based on Iran's confidential letter, appeared in Media immediately even before the BoG Members could track it down. Agency is not merely responsible to update the development, but shall ensure confidentiality of safeguards information,” he wrote in a tweet.

“If neither the Agency nor its Member States are to be blamed for this crack in confidentiality, @iaeaorg should revise its confidentiality mechanisms including regarding using GovAtom as the safe and confidential means for communications,” he added.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, also criticized the leaking of confidential information.

“Yet another confidential #IAEA report on #Iran was leaked to mass media immediately upon its circulation in Board of Governors,” Ulyanov tweeted on Friday night, adding, “The Ambassador of Iran in his Twitter account has already reacted by suggesting to strengthen mechanisms of confidentiality. Good idea but will it help?”

MH/PA