Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi
said on Sunday that his country is "examining how to continue cooperation" with the UN nuclear watchdog, for what he described as the "poor performance" of the agency.
Asefi told reporters in Tehran, during his weekly press briefing, that the related organizations are currently studying how to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and added that the outcome of this study would be announced later.
"The Islamic Republic from the beginning had declared that the IAEA must act professionally and had warned the agency not to enter a political game," the official IRNA news agency qouted Asefi as saying.
"However, the agency (IAEA) has been regretfully misused by certain Western states, particularly the US, and the process of debates and the behind-the-scene lobbies showed that Iran's warnings were right and that the IAEA has overlooked its professional work and has entered
political bickering."
"The efforts by the US and certain Western states show that they want to deprive Iran of its natural and legitimate right to acquire nuclear technology," Asefi said.
"The Islamic Republic cannot overlook this natural and legitimate right, but the measure by the IAEA created very serious doubts about its performance." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
