Iran censures IAEA for succumbing to enemies’ pressure

Iran’s nuclear authority has criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for giving into the pressure exerted by enemies of the Islamic Republic, saying the UN nuclear watchdog plays into the hands of Zionist entity and the Mujahedin Khalq terrorists (MKO) and bases its analyses in the case of the Iranian nuclear program on “deceptive information” provided by the pair.

“Based on its Statute, the Agency should encourage, support and help the countries to achieve peaceful nuclear energy, but unfortunately, for a variety of reasons and because they consider superiority as exclusive to themselves, they have monopolized science and technology, restrict us and increase our costs,” Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said during a live TV program on Saturday night.

“The enemies put a lot of pressure on the IAEA. Joining forces with the Zionists, the MKO mercenaries regularly feed the IAEA with deceptive information and always incite the Agency against our country…The IAEA investigates it (the information) and we repeatedly respond.”

He said the Islamic Republic had repeatedly asked the IAEA to stop such a trend, but to no avail.

The nuclear chief added that Iran tried to assure the UN nuclear watchdog that all its activities were in accordance with The Safeguards Agreement but the country accepted nothing beyond the law.

Iran’s 20% enriched uranium reserves exceed 120kg

Eslami also said that the reserves of uranium enriched at 20 percent purity had surpassed 120 kilograms and that the country was “ahead of the schedule” in the process.

“Earlier, based on the JCPOA, 20% uranium fuel was supposed to be given to the Tehran reactor, but it did not happen. If we had not started making this amount of fuel ourselves, this [fuel] issue would have become problematic today,” he explained, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal by the acronym of its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The AEOI chief also said that the organization had in recent months worked in different sectors such as mining, processing and producing yellow cake, and that it was seeking to take measures in the uranium exploration and identification field across the country.

Iran also censured the IAEA for failing to condemn an act of sabotage that targeted the Karaj nuclear site on June 23.

The IAEA, he said, effectively encouraged this type of terror attack by remaining silent.

According to the official, the agency was not allowed to replace the damaged cameras at the site as required under the Iran nuclear deal because of the non-compliance of the other side of the deal.

“In the recent terrorist operation, the enemy intended to damage the capacity of our country’s machine-building and manufacturing technologies, but thank God, our colleagues were able to revive that cycle,” he underlined.

“At present, it is important for us to show the national authority of our country, because we can produce all kinds of fuels. None of our products and actions are outside the legal cycle defined in the Safeguards Agreement. Although metal uranium production is considered a danger to Americans, we do what is necessary for our national interests.”

SS