TEHRAN – Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations says the country will never capitulate to threats or coercion, and that military aggression and economic terrorism can never force Iran into renouncing its legitimate rights.

Speaking on Friday before the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly—convened to discuss the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report on Iran—Amir Saeid Iravani sharply criticized the politicization of international nuclear oversight and the global community’s failure to respond to the unprecedented June attacks on Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities. 

He began by stressing that the IAEA must remain “professional, factual, and free of political influence,” arguing that the agency’s legitimacy depends entirely on its unwavering impartiality.

Iravani emphasized that nuclear energy is vital to a nation’s development, and that Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) grants countries an “inalienable right” to peaceful nuclear technology—one that cannot be restricted under political pretexts.

He reiterated that safeguards are intended to facilitate legitimate nuclear activities rather than hinder them, and criticized entrenched double standards that constrain developing states while providing political, military, and nuclear protection to Israel—an entity outside the NPT that maintains an undeclared nuclear arsenal.

“These practices do not strengthen non-proliferation,” he said. “They weaken it and fundamentally compromise the agency’s mission of technical cooperation.”

Iravani then addressed the “unprovoked and unlawful” Israeli and American attacks on Iran’s fully monitored nuclear sites between June 13 and 25, describing them as an unprecedented act of aggression.

He said that “just hours after a politically driven resolution was passed by the IAEA Board of Governors,” Israel launched extensive strikes on safeguarded Iranian facilities, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. On June 22, he continued, the United States also carried out direct attacks on IAEA-supervised locations—violating the UN Charter, international law, the IAEA Statute, and Security Council Resolution 487.

“This was not solely an attack on Iran,” he said. “It was an attack on the authority of the United Nations and the integrity of the global safeguards system.”

He faulted both the IAEA and the UN Security Council for refusing to condemn the assaults, despite decades of General Conference resolutions asserting that nuclear sites must never be targeted.

Reaffirming Iran’s longstanding commitment to the NPT, Iravani dismissed Western claims about Iran’s compliance. He said the United States and the European trio—Britain, France, and Germany—had consistently repeated “fabrications” originating from Israel about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, while ignoring Israel’s undeclared nuclear capabilities and refusal to accept international monitoring.

He stressed that Iran remains fully compliant with the NPT and its safeguards obligations and has never violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear accord involving Iran, the US, and the E3.

Referencing IAEA findings, he explained that Iran’s temporary reduction in cooperation with inspectors was solely a consequence of the military attacks. He urged the creation of a new global mechanism to shield nuclear facilities and personnel from armed strikes, warning that the credibility of the entire safeguards system depends on such protections.

Iravani also noted that Iran and the IAEA had made progress through a memorandum of understanding signed in Cairo on September 9, which set the groundwork for renewed cooperation after the attacks. However, he said this progress is now threatened by renewed hostility from Washington and European governments, including the E3’s attempt to trigger “snapback” sanctions—an action Iran considers legally null after the October 18 expiration of Resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA.

His remarks come as the IAEA prepares to release a new report estimating Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpile based on pre-attack data, while avoiding any assessment of the Israeli-American strikes or the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists that occurred during the June offensive. The report also overlooks the agency’s own role in enabling the attacks through its Board of Governors’ resolution and makes no reference to the E3’s disputed resort to the “snapback” mechanism.

Iravani concluded by rejecting continued threats and pressure on Iran, affirming: “We respond only to respect, to legality, and to equality.”