US-backed anti-Iran plan at IAEA BG scrapped: Gharibabadi

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to international organizations based in Vienna, told reporters on Thursday in a short briefing that "As a result of extensive diplomatic efforts, the process of issuing an anti-Iranian resolution in the [IAEA] Board of Governors was stopped."

“Eventually, cooler heads are prevailing,” the Iranian diplomat said. He criticized the politically motivated actions and abuse of the IAEA and praised the vigilance and measures of the IAEA members, especially the Board of Governors and the Director-General, for their efforts to avoid unnecessary tensions and to leave the door open for diplomacy.

It had been revealed to the media in recent days that the United States and the three remaining European countries in Iran nuclear deal were preparing a draft resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors criticizing Iran for ceasing its voluntary implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol.

In relevant remarks, the French foreign minister claimed on Tuesday night that a "critical" resolution against Iran would be submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors. Jean-Yves Le Drian claimed that the resolution would be presented in the coming days.

The spokesman for the Iranian government Ali Rabei had already threatened that Tehran would reconsider its recent agreement with the IAEA if IAEA Board of Governors issues a resolution against it. Ali Rabiee told a news conference in Tehran that if any resolution against Iran was approved, appropriate action and decisions would be taken, including a reviesion of the agreement between the IAEA and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

After the US exit from the world powers' nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and imposing the unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian nation which was followed by the indifference of the European parties to the need for compensating Iran's losses as a result of the US violation of the international accord, Iran started reducing its JCPOA commitments in five steps and finally suspended voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol on Monday midnight February 2.

Before ceasing the Additional protocol, Iran had begun enriching uranium to 20% purity in accordance with a piece of legislation approved by the parliament dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions in early last December, setting a Feb. 21 deadline for Biden administration to lift the US sanctions.

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