“The Islamic Republic of Iran remains ready for constructive engagement, and the only path to reaching an agreement is through the provision of strong, objective, and verifiable guarantees for the full and effective lifting of sanctions,” Najafi said while addressing a session of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday.
The ambassador criticized the United Kingdom, France, and Germany – collectively known as E3- for violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorses the Iran nuclear deal and undermining diplomacy.
“Since the implementation of the JCPOA in 2016, the United States and the E3 have not only failed to meet their obligations, but their repeated negligence and hostile measures have disrupted Iran’s efforts to normalize trade and economic relations,” he said.
Najafi pointed to a series of IAEA reports confirming Iran’s cooperation, saying that the country has provided the highest level of access to inspectors. “This has been explicitly acknowledged in 15 consecutive reports by the Director General, including the most recent one,” he noted.
He said the suspension of verification and monitoring activities in Iran was the result of illegal attacks by the United States and Israel on safeguarded nuclear facilities. Najafi said the IAEA itself withdrew its inspectors due to security concerns.
The ambassador said the E3 was misusing the “snapback” mechanism to distort reality and push a biased narrative, adding that their effort to invoke the dispute resolution mechanism under Resolution 2231 was legally invalid.
“These positions not only represent serious violations of commitments, but they also disqualify these countries from being credible participants in the agreement,” Najafi said.
On August 29, the European parties to the JCPOA triggered the countdown for the automatic return of UN sanctions, including a comprehensive arms embargo and major banking and shipping restrictions on Iran.
IRNA