Iran raps West for politicizing N-program - Gayo Lues

“No matter what we do, no matter what positive developments going on, few Western countries always try to be destructive rather than welcoming the recent visit of the [IAEA] director general to Tehran, which was in fact the first visit and opening another new chapter for our cooperation. They questioned and they repeated the boring statements of the past,” Soltanieh said.

He made the announcement during a press conference at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on Wednesday.

Last month, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano came to Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on “issues of mutual interest and a closer cooperation” between Iran and the agency.

Soltanieh also said some Western countries use the nuclear agency as a political tool to further their objectives.

He also warned the IAEA that politicizing the issue would harm cooperation between Iran and the agency, saying that no evidence has been found to suggest that Iran’s nuclear energy program has been diverted towards military objectives.

The US and the European Union accuse Iran of diversion towards military goals in its nuclear energy program and have imposed international and unilateral sanctions on Tehran using such claims as pretext.

Tehran says as a committed member of the IAEA and a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to all peaceful uses of the nuclear energy.

AGB/HGH/AZ