Iran is rejecting “undue pressure” from the US and Israel over its nuclear program and warns it could be “counterproductive” to cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
Tehran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Agency (IAEA), Kazem Gharib Abadi, tells a meeting of the agency’s board of governors that recent statements by US officials and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amounted to “a US-Israeli plot” to put pressure on the agency and its inspection activities in Iran.
Gharib Abadi tells reporters that “we interpret all these acts and activities as undue pressure on the agency.”
Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kazem Gharib Abadi gives a press conference after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on July 10, 2019. (Alex Halada / AFP)
He says that any attempt to “put the agency under pressure would be counterproductive, both for the integrity and the credibility of the agency and also for… constructive, timely and proactive cooperation by Iran with the agency.”
“Absolutely Iran will make its own reactions to these pressures,” he adds, without specifying what these would be.
The row centers on the IAEA’s call on Iran earlier this week to “respond promptly” to the agency’s questions.
While the agency itself has not called Iran’s cooperation inadequate, Israel has accused Tehran of operating secret nuclear facilities in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal, while he US has said there are “questions about possible undeclared nuclear activities.”
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
