TEHRAN – The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, warned on Tuesday that Iran would firmly respond if an anti-Iran draft resolution submitted by European states to the UN nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors is approved.

The draft submitted on Monday accuses Iran of a lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

"Tehran will definitely respond to the approval of the anti-Iranian resolution on the nuclear program," Eslami stated while speaking to reporters

He added Iran is currently scaling back its commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in accordance with a parliamentary law. 

"The opposing sides have not fulfilled their commitments under the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear program, and Iran, in turn, has reduced its commitments. Currently, Iran is in a phase of reducing commitments," Eslami noted.

In January 2016, Iran and the P5+1 group (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) signed the JCPOA, which limited Tehran’s nuclear program in return for the termination of Western sanctions on the country.

Washington unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, and re-imposed sanctions against Iran. the European trio, though still officially part of the deal, followed in the footsteps of the U.S. and ceased all trade with Iran. 

In 2020, Iran’s parliament passed a bill known as the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions in response to the West’s noncompliance with the JCPOA. Under the parliament's law, the Iranian administration is required to accelerate the development of the country’s peaceful nuclear program beyond the limits set under the JCPOA.

“We obey the (parliamentary law on) strategic action for the removal of sanctions when it comes to the JCPOA. Iran’s nuclear activities under the strategic action are within the Safeguards framework,” Eslami explained. 

Iran’s nuclear sites are the most inspected nuclear facilities around the world. Despite IAEA’s politically motivated positions throughout the years, Tehran has always made sure that the peaceful nature of its nuclear program is made clear to the nuclear watchdog. However, different Iranian officials have warned in recent months that the country might decide to change its nuclear doctrine under unjust pressure. 

Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov warned on Tuesday that a new anti-Iran Resolution by the IAEA’s board of governors will hinder diplomacy and dialogue.