The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday passed a new resolution against Iran over the construction of its Fordo enrichment plant, located outside Tehran.
In an exclusive interview with press tv on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast rejected the resolution, saying it was passed "with insistence and political ambitions of certain member states."
"We think that this [resolution] is politically motivated and only aimed at exerting pressure on Iran," he said.
The resolution, which was drafted by the G5+1- the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany- and was passed in a 25-3 vote with six abstentions, calls on Iran to immediately halt construction of its second enrichment facility.
Opposed by Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba, the resolution also urges Iran to clarify what it calls the purpose and the chronology of the plant's construction. It also wants Iran to confirm it has no more hidden nuclear plants and no intentions whatsoever to build one.
Mehman-Parast added that, by passing the resolution, the IAEA has failed a critical test to defend the rights of the members of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"This is a critical moment for the UN nuclear watchdog because all members of the Non-proliferation Treaty especially those of the Non-aligned Movement are following this case to see how the agency defends their inalienable rights."
"Iran, as an NPT member and as a country that is against the use of nuclear weapons and supports the idea of a world free of nuclear weapons, should be able to enjoy its basic rights," he added.
The spokesman warned that attempts aimed at denying Iran its nuclear rights could reduce the country's cooperation to "a legally mandated minimum," which means Iran will not go beyond its legal obligations.
"If some member states want to take a political path in dealing with Iran's nuclear case by exerting pressure on the IAEA and consequently deprive us of our basic rights then we are not obliged to continue our cooperation with the agency at the maximum level and as a member of the agency we will limit our cooperation with the IAEA to a legally mandated minimum," he concluded.
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