FM Araghchi Urges IAEA board members to reject U.S.-backed resolution against Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a letter addressed to the foreign ministers of countries represented on the IAEA Board of Governors stressed that the United States is the architect of the current crisis and should not be allowed to exploit the Board of Governors to legitimize its unlawful actions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in a letter addressed to the foreign ministers of countries represented on the IAEA Board of Governors, stressed that the United States is the architect of the current crisis and should not be allowed to exploit the Board of Governors to legitimize its unlawful actions.

In the letter, sent concurrently with the June session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Araghchi described the draft resolution submitted by the United States as a politically motivated and ill-intentioned move.

Referring to the fact that less than 24 hours after the adoption of the June 2025 Board of Governors resolution, Israel and the United States launched unlawful attacks against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities and killed large numbers of Iranian citizens, Araghchi questioned whether the Agency was once again being used as a tool to justify aggression against peaceful nuclear installations.

The Iranian foreign minister emphasized that the principal sponsor of the draft resolution is itself the source of the crisis it now claims to address. Pointing to repeated U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, as well as the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists and their family members since June 2025, he described these acts as heinous and unprecedented in the history of the Agency. He stressed that such attacks have had far-reaching consequences for international law, global peace and security, the non-proliferation regime, and the implementation of IAEA safeguards.

Araghchi also criticized the content of the U.S.-sponsored draft resolution, noting that it focuses solely on the consequences of recent developments while deliberately ignoring the underlying causes and factors that have led to the current situation.

Highlighting the responsibility of Board members in deciding on this criminal U.S. initiative, Araghchi stated that the votes of member states would affect not only Iran’s case but also the credibility, independence, and future of the IAEA, as well as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

He called on Board members to approach the matter with vigilance, impartiality, and a sense of responsibility, and not allow the Agency to once again become a political instrument of the United States.

In another part of the letter, Araghchi recalled the United States’ unilateral and unlawful withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. He argued that Washington’s military actions against Iran during diplomatic processes and its extensive attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities demonstrate its disregard for international obligations. He urged Board members to oppose the resolution in order to prevent further complications.

The quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors is currently underway in Vienna, where the United States has submitted a draft resolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran for consideration and decision by the Board.