Iranian FM says IAEA should act ’independently’ and not based on ’alleged studies’

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should act “independently” and not based on “alleged studies.”

Salehi considered as positive the recent report by the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. “In his report, the IAEA chief divided the Islamic Republic's commitments to the agency's Safeguard Agreement from the US alleged studies while it used to discuss the two issues with each other.”

The top Iranian diplomat described as “very important” parts of the report which clearly reaffirmed that Iran has fulfilled its commitments within the framework of the country's agreements with the IAEA, IRNA reported.

But he went on to criticize the IAEA efforts to pretend that the US alleged studies do exist as a real issue. “This is not within the prestige of the IAEA. The agency should not take sides. It should act independently.”

The Iranian minister expressed hope that future reports by the IAEA would remove the issue of alleged studies from Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, particularly with regard to the objection of the Non-Aligned Movement to certain approaches of the agency.

Amano's latest document is a prelude to the upcoming traditional spring meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors, which is scheduled to convene from March 7-11.