TEHRAN- Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday that the U.S. and three European nations -France, Germany and Britain also known as E3 - put political pressure on the IAEA Board of Governors to adopt resolution against Iran.

On Thursday, the Board of Governors of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency endorsed an anti-Iran resolution sponsored by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, which Tehran dismissed as political pressure.

The 35-member board approved the resolution with 26 votes in favor, five abstentions, and two absent. China and Russia voted against the resolution. 

“Iran's response is appropriate given the IAEA Board Governor's most recent decision. A resolution that unfortunately was accepted due to the political approach taken by the U.S. administration and three European nations, who really put the Board of Governors under political pressure,” Kanaani told a regular news briefing. 

Regarding the specifics of Iran's response, Kanaani stated, “I am not in a position to discuss the topic; the Atomic Energy Organization will choose its moves.”

Kanaani reaffirmed that Iran has the most transparent peaceful nuclear program in the world.

According to the resolution, the board "decides it is vital and urgent" that Iran explain "the origin of the uranium particles" identified by IAEA inspectors, and wants Iran to address any IAEA queries.

Kanaani further emphasized that Iran is dedicated to seeing the Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement put into practice and that it would continue to work with the IAEA in accordance with the agreement.

In response to the board’s decision, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) initiated several measures in the presence of inspectors from the IAEA in the enrichment complexes of Shahid Ahmadi Roshan in Natanz and Dr. Alimohammadi in Fordo. Iran had previously warned the Western parties about the repercussions of this “illogical” and “destructive” action.

“The IAEA was informed about the action taken in the presence of the Agency's inspectors,” he said, adding, “Unfortunately, the resolution was issued while Iran has the most transparent peaceful nuclear program compared to the number of facilities under the supervision of the Agency in the world.” 

Based on the foreign ministry’s spokesman, the majority of the Agency's inspections have focused on Iran's nuclear activities. It was anticipated that as a result of Iran's proactive approach and constructive cooperation with the Agency, bilateral relations would improve, particularly after an Iranian delegation held talks with the Agency's director general.

He went to say that “the action of the four countries showed that they still want to disrupt the technical activities of Iran and the Agency with political approaches, and in this context, Iran should show the necessary reaction as it had already announced.”

The spokesman added, “If Iran has duties related to the Agency, it must also have rights. Iran's rights must be respected. Iran also adheres to its duties, as it has always proved in close and constructive interaction with the Agency.”

In response to a query regarding the human rights resolution against Iran Kanaani stated, “We have made our opinions on this topic clear. Iran holds the viewpoint that politicizing the subject of human rights is counterproductive.”

Kanaani continued, “We consider that bringing up Iran's human rights concerns at the UN Human Rights Council is a political move, and we reject this. The West's strategy is destructive and will not advance human rights in any nation or within the international community.”

“Some Western countries are using human rights as a tool whose human rights record is very dark. There are countries in the United Nations Human Rights Council, and some of them are permanent members of the Security Council, which throughout history have committed massive crimes against humanity and endangered the peace, security and tranquility of humanity,” the spokesman said, stressing that some of these countries killed “thousands of people in wars” for political purposes.

“We believe that human rights claims against independent countries and their use to advance political goals disrupt the process of promoting the issue of human rights as an issue with a high status in the international community. We emphasize that countries that care about human rights should stand against these non-constructive approaches,” Kanaani stated. 

He said that the German government has a dismal past when it comes to upholding human rights, and that they lack both a “political” and “moral” stance, making them ineligible to carry out such acts against sovereign nations like Iran.

Regarding the potential use of the trigger mechanism and submitting Iran's issue to the UN Security Council, Kanaani highlighted, “Regarding what these countries would do next, I don't want to speculate. Iran has previously stated that it will engage in constructive dialogue in exchange for dialogue; on the other hand, it will respond to any potential non-constructive action by these countries with a definitive, serious, and appropriate reaction.”

Kanaani added, “We urge the countries that regrettably exploit international fora to pursue political objectives and apply pressure to quit doing so and prevent the politicization of specialized and international institutions.”

“After the high-ranking Iranian delegation's visit to Vienna and successful conversations with the Agency, agreements were reached to maintain positive and constructive collaboration between the two parties to settle problems,” Kanaani stated.

The next steps will be done in accordance with the changing circumstances, and it is important to reassess the concerns, he said in reference to the political resolution against Iran.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the pertinent authorities are looking into and taking the required actions, based on the spokesperson’s remarks. 

Regarding actions taken against the anti-Iran Persian-language media, the spokesman underscored, “Our political efforts are underway, and preliminary legal proceedings have been taken and preparations have been made. Iran will deploy its diplomatic resources, and the appropriate Iranian legal institutions will act.”

Persian language TV channels, such as Iran international, BBC Persian and VOA have been fanning flames of unrest in Iran. Iran International, which is famous as “Saudi International”, has launched a massive disinformation campaign against Iran in the unrest in Iran which began after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini.    

Iran criticizes global silence toward Israeli attacks on Syria 

He added that one of the primary causes of the Zionist regime's ongoing illegal attacks against the territorial integrity of Syria is the absence of a serious and dissuasive response from responsible international bodies, such as the United Nations Security Council and countries in the region.

“Any assault by the Zionist regime against Syria constitutes a blatant and obvious breach of international law, and it must be strongly denounced by the entire community,” Kanaani added.

In answer to a query on the activities of terrorist groups from the Kurdistan region of Iraq against Iran, Kanaani said, “Iraq must not be utilized as the site and point of threats against Iran." 

He added, “Iran expects that there will be no threat to Iran's security from Iraq.”

“We expect that the Iraqi government and local Kurdish government representatives would uphold their international commitments and honor the obligations they made within the scope of bilateral agreements with the relevant Iranian authorities,” he underlined. 

Iran has been complaining that both the central Iraqi government and those in charge in the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have not done anything tangible to prevent the Kurdish militant separatist groups to use the Iraqi territory as a hiding place to commit acts of terror in west and northwest Iran.  

“Despite the numerous assurances we obtained from regional and Iraqi officials, this did not transpire, and as a result, Iran is acting in accordance with its legal obligations to preserve border security,” the spokesman lamented.

In the early hours of Monday, the ground forces from the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps launched a new series of drone and missile attacks against the bases of the militant groups in northern Iraq. 

The spokesman stated two meetings between the top security officials of the two countries took place in Tehran and Baghdad in the previous month. During these meetings, Iran's expectations were made clear, and it was emphasized that the Kurdistan region of Iraq should not be used as a place to export weapons and equipment to Iran.

“Unfortunately, the aspirations of Iran have not yet been satisfied”, Kanaani remarked. “This matter is highly significant to Iran since we respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Separatist and terrorist groups operating on Iraqi soil at the same time breached Iraq's sovereignty by carrying out these terrorist attacks before endangering Iran's civilians, border guards, and security.”

“We don't care about internal developments in U.S.”

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said Iran does not care about domestic issues, including congressional elections, in the United States.

“Over the years, nothing has diminished from the hostile stance of the American administration against Iran regarding the outcome of U.S. elections,” Kanaani said when asked about the results of the midterm congressional elections in the U.S. 

“We don't pay attention to the internal developments and changes in the U.S.,” he remarked, adding “The Iranian government and people demand that the American administration stop acting in an adversarial and unlawful manner toward them.”

Kanaani also commented on the Sunday visit of Oman’s foreign minister to Tehran, saying, “Our relationship with Oman is very close, cordial, and constructive. In the previous year, there has been an increase in the two nations' economic and commercial ties.

Close contacts between the two countries in the financial and economic spheres are required for the strengthening and consolidation of these partnerships.”

“Political talks improve ties between the two nations,” he continued, concluding, “Both states place a premium on regional security, and because of their frequent communication and productive talks, the region requires that capital-level discussions persist.”