Islamic Republic says US refuses to clarify sanctions relief path

Iran’s foreign ministry defended its nuclear record while accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency of misrepresenting the scope of its cooperation.

“As a responsible member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA, we have always coordinated our peaceful activities with the agency,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during a press briefing.

The spokesman dismissed criticism over Iran’s recent cancellation of a small number of inspector accreditations, calling it a legal step under the agency’s rules.

“To exaggerate the removal of a few inspectors while omitting the presence of 125 others clearly shows a biased and hostile approach,” he said.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that receiving negotiation texts should not be interpreted as acceptance, adding that Tehran will respond to any offer strictly based on national interests.

“Receiving or accepting a document in no way implies agreement or even that it is acceptable,” ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at his weekly press briefing.

Baghaei described the exchange of draft texts as standard diplomatic procedure and recalled that Iran had submitted the first formal proposal in past talks.

“Every proposal must be carefully examined, and we will respond based on legal principles and national interest,” he added.

Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of succumbing to European political pressure in its latest report and warned that Tehran would adjust its nuclear steps in response.

“The IAEA report was drafted under the influence and pressure of certain European countries,” the ministry’s spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a press briefing.

“It does not befit an international body tasked with overseeing peaceful nuclear activity to be placed under such pressure,” he added.

“Iran is monitoring Western conduct through the agency and will calibrate its next steps accordingly.”

Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, accused the United States of deceiving Iran prior to the 1979 revolution by proposing a nuclear fuel consortium that ultimately excluded Tehran after securing its investment.

“This is exactly what the Americans told Iran before the revolution—they said, do not enter the nuclear fuel cycle,” Eslami said, according to Tasnim News.

“They proposed forming a consortium, and it was established after they took a billion dollars from the Shah. It was based in France, and as soon as it was formed, they said non-European countries cannot be members.”

The Iranian daily Kayhan, overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s appointee Hossein Shariatmadari, wrote on Monday that the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency goes beyond routine oversight and may serve as a political tool for Western pressure.

“One of the most important but underexamined aspects of the IAEA’s recent report is that it appears to go beyond technical or monitoring purposes,” the paper wrote.

Kayhan said the document was “crafted as a prelude to initiating the snapback mechanism by the Europeans,” referring to the process for restoring UN sanctions on Iran.