09 June 2021; MEMO: Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kazem Gharibabadi, yesterday rejected the IAEA chief's assessment of the level of cooperation between the agency and Tehran, describing it as "biased" and "lacking in credibility".
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in his opening statement to the quarterly session of the IAEA Board of Governors that technical discussions between the IAEA and Iran have not yielded the expected results.
"Iran has provided no new information in relation to one location, has not answered any of the Agency's questions nor provided any information in relation to two other locations, and provided a written statement on a fourth location without any substantiating documentation," Grossi said in a statement.
"Since February, verification and monitoring activities have been affected as a result of Iran's decision to stop the implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Additional Protocol, which gives broader access to IAEA inspectors throughout the country," the statement added.
Responding to the IAEA chief's statements, Gharibabadi said on Twitter that Grossi's positions "show the biased approach of the Secretariat vis-à-vis its interactions with Iran, which ignores the level of cooperation and engagement. This approach could turn into an obstacle for future good-will interactions between the two sides."
"The Agency report lacks triple C: it's not 'consistent' in relations with the background of cooperation between two sides; it's not 'credible' since it is not based on reliable sources; it's not 'convincing' since it does not contain all aspects of the cooperation and progress made," he added.
The Iranian diplomat said the "Agency shouldn't act as if it's supporting the political agenda of some against the others" and called on the IAEA to avoid politicisation.
