Iran Raps Political Meddling in IAEA’s Technical Issues
Denouncing the unconstructive political interference in the technical activities of the UN nuclear agency, the foreign minister of Iran called for an end to the artificial hype ahead of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan talked about the bilateral ties as well as the issues and developments of mutual interest in the international arena.
Stressing the need to end the artificial and unconstructive hype at the upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, the Iranian foreign minister highlighted the trend of cooperation between the UN nuclear agency and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
He underlined that the repeated emphasis by the IAEA that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful cannot be reversed all of a sudden by making a hasty political statement.
Amirabdollahian added that during a recent visit by the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran, the two sides reached a mutually agreed deal in a positive process, noting, “We consider political interference in the IAEA’s technical issues as totally unconstructive.”
Amirabdollahian also referred to Iran’s seriousness about reaching a good, lasting and strong deal in the Vienna talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
A deal is at hand if all sides realistically stick to diplomacy and their commitments, not threats, he underscored.
Amirabdollahian then referred to the appointment and presence of the Iranian ambassador in Singapore and described the trend of relations between the two sides as positive. He also underlined Iran’s readiness to expand ties with Singapore.
The top Iranian diplomat further spoke about the Ukraine crisis and called for a cessation of hostilities there. He described diplomacy and dialogue as the best way to end the crisis.
For his part, Singapore’s foreign minister described ties with Iran as growing and noted that the COVID crisis is over in his country.
Balakrishnan underlined Singapore’s readiness to expand and develop ties with Iran in all areas, especially in the spheres of mutual interest.
He finally invited Amirabdollahian to visit Singapore, describing the relations with Iran as important.