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Iran responds to IAEA resolution

14 September 2012 04:20 (UTC +04:00)

"We are ready to cooperate with the IAEA without compromising our national securityâ€¦ provided that we are convinced that efforts are aimed at finalizing Iranâ€™s nuclear case, not pursuing a futile process,â€ IRNA quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying in Vienna on Thursday.

Soltanieh made the remarks in response to the IAEAâ€™s latest resolution on Iranâ€™s nuclear energy program.

The non-binding resolution, which was passed by the IAEA Board of Governors without consensus earlier in the day, expressed â€œserious concernâ€ over Iranâ€™s nuclear energy program and stated that diplomacy is the only way to resolve the Westâ€™s dispute with Iran over the program. Cuba voted against the resolution, and Egypt, Ecuador, and Tunisia abstained.

The Iranian envoy reiterated that Tehran â€œwill never compromise regarding its inalienable right to peaceful nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment.â€

He also criticized politicization of Iranâ€™s nuclear energy program, saying that the countryâ€™s nuclear file remains open due to unfounded allegations made by a few Western countries

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iranâ€™s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iranâ€™s civilian nuclear energy program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.