TEHRAN – Iran’s chief nuclear official has said that Iran provided “accurate” answers to questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but there is no serious will on the part of the UN nuclear watchdog to consider Iran’s answers convincing.

In remarks to Al Jazeera, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the IAEA is under the influence of Iran’s enemies, particularly Israel.

“What we have provided so far in response to the IAEA's questions has been accurate. There is no serious will on the part of the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency to describe our answers as convincing. The International Agency refers to intelligence reports from our enemies, the first of which is Israel,” Eslami said.

He also downplayed the resolution that is expected to be adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors against Iran.  “The resolution that some in the Board of Governors are seeking will not impose new conditions. The IAEA must stop political influence within it and abide by its charter. The IAEA did not criticize the targeting of our facilities, and this is a big question,” Eslami remarked.

The nuclear chief went on to say that there is no place for nuclear weapons in Iran’s strategy, and what is being said is just malicious accusations.

“Our share of global [nuclear] energy is 3% and 25% of the work of the Agency's inspectors is on our lands,” he noted.

He also touched on the possibility of enriching uranium to 90%, saying that “the decision to enrich uranium to 90% rests with the relevant officials.”

He continued, “We don't make uranium enrichment decisions just to provoke.”

Eslami says the IAEA's access to the cameras'  recordings depends on the fate of the nuclear agreement.

Eslami also said that the IAEA's access to the cameras' recordings depends on the fate of the nuclear agreement.

“We will continue our peaceful nuclear activities regardless of the fate of the nuclear agreement. We are ready to abide by the agreement in return for the other parties to implement all its provisions,” he said.

The remarks come against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Iran and the IAEA over the latter’s recent report that laid the ground for the Board’s resolution.

The Board of Governors’ meeting kicked off on Monday with Iran being one of the issues on agenda. The United States and its European allies -France, Germany, and the UK – made it clear that they would push for a resolution against Iran. Western media reported that these countries have tabled the resolution at a time when talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), continue to face growing uncertainty.

The West pushing for censure for the first time in two years raised concerns in Iran about opponents of the JCPOA throwing a wrench into the gears of the Vienna talks, especially after a war of words between Iran and the IAEA director-general, Rafael Grossi, who incensed Tehran by visiting Israel right before the Board of Governors meeting.

The trip to Israel was especially worrisome because it also came after the IAEA released a report castigating Iran for allegedly not providing credible answers to the IAEA questions that were raised by Israel in the first place.

Of note, the UN nuclear watchdog has raised questions about a number of Iranian sites at which uranium materials were allegedly found. The sites and their coordinates were presented to the IAEA by Israel.

“Iran has not provided explanations that are technically credible in relation to the Agency's findings at those locations,” the report said according to Reuters. It added, “The Agency remains ready to engage without delay with Iran to resolve all of these matters.”

Iran strongly rejected the report, describing it as not reflecting the level of cooperation between Tehran and the IAEA.