Iran will not take part in rare IAEA-hosted talks next week for countries in the Middle East to discuss efforts to free the world of nuclear weapons, a senior Iranian official said today, in a further sign of worsening ties between the UN atomic agency and Iran.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the statement after the 35-nation board of the IAEA adopted a resolution rebuking Tehran over its nuclear programme. Iran denies it is seeking a nuclear bomb.
Mr Soltanieh lashed out at IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, who convened the talks in Vienna for Middle Eastern states, as "not professional" and said he did not believe the meeting would be "fruitful."
Iran "will not participate," he told reporters. Israel and Arab states are expected to attend the forum.
Iran has showed no sign of backing down in the protracted dispute over its atomic activities, threatening to take legal action against the Vienna-based agency for issuing a critical report about Tehran's nuclear programme.
Last week's IAEA report presented intelligence indicating that Iran has undertaken research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability. It has stoked tensions in the Middle East and redoubled calls in Western capitals for stiffer sanctions against Tehran.
Iran says it is enriching uranium only as fuel for nuclear power plants, not atomic weapons. It has dismissed the details in the IAEA report obtained mainly from Western spy agencies as fabricated, and accusing the IAEA of a pro-Western slant.
Mr Soltanieh, accused the agency of leaking the report early to the United States, Britain and France. Some of its contents appeared in Western media before their release last week.
"This is a clear violation of the (IAEA) staff regulation, the oath taken by the Director General upon his assumption of the post, as well as the spirit and letter of the Statute of the IAEA since all member states have to be treated equally," he said in a letter to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano.
"My government reserves its legitimate rights ... to seek damages, monetary and otherwise, from the IAEA for any injury to persons and damages to property in my country that may arise from your unjustified, unfair and politically motivated reports and decisions that may be taken on the basis of such reports."
He appeared to be hinting at speculation that Israel, which sees Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat, might launch pre-emptive attacks on Iranian atomic sites in the absence of diplomatic negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Mr Soltanieh's letter was distributed to media in Vienna today, shortly before the governing board of the IAEA was due to start the debate on the draft resolution.
The six powers spearheading diplomacy on Iran - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - this week ironed out a joint resolution in intense talks and submitted it to the board, a mix of industrialised and developing countries.
The fact that it was backed by all the big powers virtually guaranteed it would win wide support in today's vote. Diplomats said the resolution had won many additional sponsors, bringing the total to a clear majority.
Reuters