Iran said Wednesday a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to censure Iran over advances in its nuclear program and failure to cooperate with the U.N. group was "hasty and unwise" and will have a "detrimental effect" on further diplomacy.
Despite reservations from the Biden administration, the U.S. voted for the censure measure, which was led mostly by European nations, The Wall Street Journal reported. It was the first formal censure resolution of Iran by the IAEA's board of member states since November 2022.
Russia and China opposed the resolution, but they have no veto on the 35-member board, the Journal reported. The measure passed by a 20-2 vote, with 12 abstentions and one member not voting.
"The decision made by Western countries was both hasty and unwise," the Iranian Mission to the U.N. told Newsweek on Wednesday, "and it will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on the process of diplomatic engagement and constructive cooperation."
Before the vote, Iran's acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, warned the IAEA of attempts by member states to use the agency to push political agendas.
"The nonconstructive approach of some member countries in exploiting the agency's capacity in pursuit of their political goals will definitely harm the identity of the agency, as well as its role-playing and specialized role," Bagheri Kani said, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
President Joe Biden sought a return to the multilateral nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action forged under Barack Obama in 2015 that lifted international sanctions on Iran for restrictions to Tehran's nuclear program. The Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018, and Iran has gradually reduced its commitments.
Negotiations pursued under Biden to restore full U.S. and Iranian participation in the deal unraveled in late 2022.
Iran has maintained it is not seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, a position held for decades in line with a fatwa, an Islamic religious ruling, issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Newsweek reported senior Iranian officials, including an adviser to Khamenei, have suggested potential shifts to the doctrine in recent months.
The shift is related to possible threats to Iran by Israel amid escalating regional tensions over the Jewish state's war against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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