TEHRAN, Oct. 21 — A senior Iranian security official said on Monday that Iran’s cooperation agreement with the UN nuclear watchdog, reached in Cairo in September, has become void after France, Britain, and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism reinstating UN sanctions on Tehran.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), made the remarks in Tehran during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Qasim al-Araji, during which he talked about the future of Iran’s relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“They should have avoided implementing the snapback (if they wanted a different outcome),” Larijani said, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Larijani added that any proposals from the UN nuclear watchdog to resume cooperation must be reviewed by the SNSC. Iran had suspended cooperation with the IAEA in June under a parliamentary law, citing the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli and U.S. attacks on its nuclear sites and concerns about the safety of its facilities and scientists.
Larijani also dismissed recent statements by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium, saying his reports “no longer have any impact.” (Xinhua)
