Tehran’s ambassador to the IAEA: ‘Iran will go on with nuclear work’

Iran will continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog but will not suspend its nuclear work, Tehran’s ambassador to the IAEA says.
“We fully cooperate with the (International Atomic Energy) Agency in accordance with comprehensive safeguard, which is the NPT safeguard. But we will not go beyond our legal obligations,” Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh told Press TV, after the IAEA released its latest report on Iran’s nuclear work on Thursday.

Soltaniyeh promised Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA but added that his country will not suspend its uranium activities.

He said the US and its Western allies should change their ‘boring and frustrating trend’ on Tehran’s nuclear work, saying they have found ‘no evidence’ of Iran’s pursuit of forbidden weapons.

He also urged the IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to use his ‘maximum authority and his prerogative’ to prevent certain countries from imposing obligations beyond legal ones on Iran.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA chief, released his latest report on Iranian nuclear program on Thursday.

ElBaradei said the IAEA has not found any evidence on Iran’s diversion but added there remained “outstanding issues” which give rise to concerns about “possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.”

The report said that Iran “needs to provide substantive information, and access to relevant documentation, locations and individuals, in connection with all of the outstanding issues.”

The US and its western allies accuse Iran of heading toward a military nuclear program. Iran says the allegations are ‘baseless,’ calling on the UN nuclear watchdog not to be ’swayed’ by the West.

Iran says it is only seeking peaceful applications of the technology, saying it has provided the IAEA inspectors with full access to its nuclear facilities.

NPT signatory Iran is now under three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear work.