Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks on Saturday afternoon in an interview with Iran state TV IRIB.
The Iranian diplomat referred to the three-month monitoring agreement between Iran and the IAEA signed in February which expired on May 20, but later was extended for one more month until June 24, saying that "At first, the Islamic Republic of Iran decided not to extend the technical agreement with the IAEA, but based on goodwill, it allowed the recording of IAEA CCTV data to continue for another month."
He added that after the one-month extension of the safeguards agreement expired on June 24th and since then there has not been an agreement between the two sides.
Gharibabadi also pointed to the recent remarks by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, and added, "Yesterday, the Director-General of the IAEA sent a report to the members of the Board of Governors and the Security Council, saying that in his view, this one-month extension means that the extension is over, and Iran has not responded to the Agency's requests to resume and extend this technical agreement."
“The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency was not in a position to ask Iran to continue its activities, because the agreement we had with the IAEA was an agreement based on political principles and not a technical agreement based on the commitments of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian envoy said.
He continued by saying that “Iran is not required to comply with the Agency's demands.”
“What we are required to do with the IAEA is only within the framework of safeguards, and the safeguard procedures are clear,” he also noted.
Iran's envoy to IAEA also said that it is the United States that must return to JCPOA, not Iran,”
He went on to say that “Such statements are accompanied by political messages." We have repeatedly stated that no agreement will be reached until our expectations are met.
Gharibabadi also pointed out that “In response to the Director-General, we said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not required to fulfill obligations beyond safeguards, and if we voluntarily record these CCTV data, it does not mean that we have an obligation to the Agency and now you ask for it as an Agency’s right.”
According to Iran IAEA ambassador, “If a voluntary action is taken, it should not be considered as a binding and compulsory action.”
KI/FNA14000405000826