TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Monday that its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains an "important principle" and called on the international nuclear watchdog to act "professionally" toward its "peaceful nuclear activities."
Iran is committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA's safeguards agreements, official news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying during a weekly press conference.
In return for Iran's cooperation with the agency, Tehran hopes the IAEA will act "professionally" toward its "peaceful nuclear activities" and remain committed to the principles and frameworks of carrying out "professional and expert cooperation," said Kanaani.
Any political use of the IAEA's professional status would be detrimental to its reputation, he added.
On the resumption of nuclear talks, Kanaani said they should proceed on the condition that the harsh and unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran are lifted and all parties return "responsibly" to the agreement.
Communication and cooperation between Iran and the IAEA continues, the spokesman said, adding there are no political obstacles to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's potential visit to Tehran.
Turning to a Bloomberg report released on Sunday, which cited two senior diplomats as claiming that IAEA inspectors in Iran last week detected uranium enriched to levels "just below that needed for a nuclear weapon," Kanaani said such a move amounts to abusing the IAEA for political purposes and is rejected by Iran.
On Sunday, the IRNA quoted the Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying that the Bloomberg report was a "distortion of the facts" and part of a smear campaign.
Over the past few months, the IAEA has criticized Iran for lack of cooperation with the agency. On Nov. 17, 2022, the IAEA's Board of Governors passed a resolution proposed by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany that called on Iran to collaborate with the agency's investigators regarding the alleged "traces of uranium" at a number of its "undeclared" sites. Iran has repeatedly rejected such allegations. ■
