IAEA Resolution putting Iran at loggerheads with NATO countries
...and other news from the Middle East.
While the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and while Russia responded with its new Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil with US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows (see my previous article), another battle was being fought on another front, though at diplomatic level only.
As reported by Al Mayadeen, yesterday, 21st November 2024, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a Western resolution against Iran (see my previous article on this topic for more info) with a majority of 19 votes in favour, 12 abstentions, and 3 votes against, thus putting Iran at loggerheads with the Outlaw US Empire and its NATO vassal states on the other.
In a joint statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) responded to the decision of the IAEA's Board of Governors with the following statement:
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency issued its decision under pressure from the European Troika and Washington.
The approach of the European Troika and the United States is "destructive".
…which was followed by activation of new advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment, as reported by IRNA and Al Mayadeen, with Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), stating:
Our compensatory actions began immediately after this resolution.
This means we will significantly increase our enrichment capacity, deploy various advanced machines, and enhance the speed of industrial research and development for each machine.
Our infrastructure will be strengthened, and security measures will be improved through other actions.
It is also worth reporting that the so-called Core Group countries issued the following joint statement in the IAEA Board of Governors condemning the resolution proposed by UK, France and Germany against Iran's peaceful nuclear program (as per IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency):
We have taken into consideration Iran's long-standing commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as a member of the NPT and the continuation of interaction between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. We welcome all issues related to the implementation of the NPT agreement, including the remaining issues.
Just before that, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi had an interview with Al Mayadeen, of which I report some highlights from Al Mayadeen Short News (all emphasis mine - a summary can be found in this article):
I believe that there is a serious threat from the Zionist entity, and it will not hesitate to commit any crime.
It is natural for the countries of the region to be concerned about the possibility of the crimes that are committed in Gaza and other areas to happen elsewhere.
The response to the Zionist entity’s aggression is inevitable and definitive, but its circumstances, timing, and form are linked to the appropriate circumstances.
We will not delay our response, nor will we rush it, and Operation True Promise III will be carried out eventually.
Targeting Iranian nuclear facilities would be a huge mistake, and our position regarding this matter is firm and clear.
The moment the entity attacks our nuclear facilities, we will respond in kind, and I do not think it will resort to such a crazy step.
The entity believes that it can eliminate the resistance ideology by targeting its leaders, officials, and symbols in the region.
Tehran has a major role in finding and strengthening the resistance ideology, which is why the entity regards it as its main enemy in the region.
My visit to Beirut came at a very sensitive time, and its main goal was to announce our full support for the Resistance.
We will not leave the resistance alone in these circumstances, and we will support it by all means possible.
The rhetoric about Iran leaving Hezbollah alone comes within the framework of the Western media psychological warfare.
We are certain that Hezbollah will attain a higher and more sublime position than it had in the past in Lebanon and the region.
The United States is involved in moves and activities in the region with the aim of reaching a ceasefire.
The US representative held serious and fundamental negotiations with Speaker Berri.
America received the remarks; we are awaiting whether they will be accepted or not.
We have no objection to reaching any ceasefire agreement in Gaza and Lebanon, and we will support any decision taken.
There are intensive efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, but they have not yet yielded any results.
The entity is not serious about reaching a ceasefire in Gaza because that would mean a disastrous failure and defeat for the Zionist government.
The Hamas movement is still standing and attacking the occupation Zionist forces.
The Qatari Foreign Minister confirmed to us that there are no intentions to close Hamas offices in Doha, and the circulated reports in this regard are rumors.
The Resistance will emerge victorious, this entity has become an outcast, and the countries of the region have begun to acknowledge the mistake of normalizing relations with it.
Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is in a very good position, and these relations are based on the foundations of mutual trust and joint cooperation.
Our relationship with Bahrain has become good, and we have decided to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Our good relations with Saudi Arabia have left positive effects on the development of our relations with the rest of the Arab countries.
We have to wait and see the nature of the decisions that the new US administration will take.
We communicate with the current US administration, if necessary, through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
We currently have no channel of communication with the new US administration.
The Iranian nuclear file is currently surrounded by great complications compared to the past.
I do not believe there is a chance to sit with the 5+1 group at the negotiating table because many facts have changed.
If the new US administration returns to the policy of maximum pressure and hostile policies, our positions are clear.
The visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency was political.
We tried to find common ground for cooperation between us to solve the outstanding problems and find relevant solutions through dialogue and negotiations.
The three European countries did not wait for Grossi's return and submitted a draft political resolution to the Board of Governors meeting.
We have previously warned European countries that we will respond to such political decisions appropriately.
The Europeans are well aware that such pressures will not deter us from our decision to cooperate positively with the IAEA.
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, Senior Advisor to the Leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran, who visited Lebanon a few days ago, said the following about Hezbollah, as per Al Mayadeen:
Any decision made by the Lebanese government, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Hezbollah will receive the full support of the Islamic Republic.
Hezbollah is a rational and logical party with many wise and politically mature leaders, and we trust them and their decisions. The Resistance is mature, both in its intellect and action.
It does not need any advice from anyone; rather, it often offers guidance to others.
The battles being fought by the Resistance in South Lebanon indicate the failure of the Zionists and their irrationality.
In other news, Ansar Allah has launched a few ballistic missiles towards Israel between yesterday and today: yesterday sirens went off in “settlements south of occupied al-Quds” (i.e. Jerusalem) due to a suspected ballistic missile from Yemen, according to Israeli media quoted in this Al Mayadeen article, and today the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted the Israeli Nevatim Airbase in the Naqab region, as announced by the YAF spokesperson, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, quoted in another Al Mayadeen article.
In related news, yesterday Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, gave a speech, summarized in this Al Mayadeen article, from which I have taken the following excerpts (all emphasis mine):
Yemen has challenged America with its warships and fleets at sea after it declared aggression against us, and Yemen has stood firm and never retreated from its position.
Yemen targeted America's aircraft carriers, which terrorize many countries, regimes, and governments, using them to intimidate those who compete with it internationally.
Yemen targeted the aircraft carriers, starting with the USS Eisenhower, which fled the Red Sea defeated, humiliated, and expelled.
With the announcement of the US Navy's retreat, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is now fleeing from the Arabian Sea after coming under attack, and the decision was made for it to return to where it came from and escape.
Washington's use of the veto against the draft resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza reflects its barbarism, brutality, and complicity in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
America is the one who talks the most about peace, and yet it is the one who commits the most crimes and wars of extermination in the world and is the occupation's partner in crime.
Decisions that aim to stop the genocide against the Palestinian people are unacceptable to the Americans, who pursue an aggressive approach toward Arabs and Muslims.
The American and Israeli statements about changing the face of the Middle East aim to control everyone in a way that serves the interests of both sides.
The Israeli enemy treats hospitals as primary military targets, aiming to kill as many Palestinians as possible.
The fighters from Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have chosen the right and wise path. The ummah [nation] must encourage following this direction, which preserves it from loss and exhaustion.
Alternative paths to the Resistance approach are either surrender or exploitation by the enemy, along with the draining of resources and fighting the Americans, as some are doing.
What Hezbollah is achieving today is great, as it stands strong in the face of unprecedented aggression against Lebanon.
Hezbollah operates very effectively; its fighters engage with the Israeli enemy at close range, driving them out and inflicting damage, while also bombarding the settlements. Rocket attacks have even reached the occupied city of Yafa [also Jaffa, i.e. Tel Aviv], putting the Israeli enemy in a state of constant fear.
Millions of Israelis are fleeing to shelters day and night, with sirens almost never ceasing.
The Arab responses in previous phases were not aligned with the level of responsibility, challenges, or dangers at hand. They lacked a clear vision.
Arab actions against the enemy were typically reactive, short-lived, and uncoordinated, ending in failure, only to be revived sporadically without planning or support.
The Israeli enemy now speaks confidently, claiming that the Americans will hand the West Bank and Gaza over to it.
The person Trump appointed as his ambassador to the Israeli enemy does not believe in the existence of the West Bank or Gaza.
On the matter mentioned at the end, anonymous Republican sources quoted by Al Mayadeen, citing the Israeli news media outlet Ynet, have revealed that actually President-elect Donald Trump is opposed to Israeli annexation of the West Bank, while Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is advocating for Israeli…
sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank), expanding settlements, severing ties with the Palestinian Authority and imposing sanctions on it.
…as quoted in another Al Mayadeen article, related to the Israeli responses to the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. For an overview of American reactions to the ICC arrest warrants, read this other Al Mayadeen article.