Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that Washington's insistence on passing a resolution against Iran in the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is a hasty and unconstructive measure, stressing that Iran will not retreat from its "rights" and will respond appropriately if Washington insists on continuing its unconstructive policy, according to his expression.
This came in a telephone conversation in which Abdullahian and the EU's external relations official, Josep Borrell, discussed the latest developments in the nuclear negotiations.
Abdullahian said that Iran welcomes logical negotiations that lead to results, noting that it has made important initiatives to reach an agreement in Vienna, stressing that diplomacy is the best way to a solution and that Iran has not left the negotiating table.
On the other hand, the New York Times quoted a US official as saying that the United States is not aware of any new proposals from Iran, and that it is open to ideas that may lead to a return to the nuclear agreement.
The official added that the United States was open to raising the IRGC's designation as a terrorist organization, provided Iran provided new assurances about the IRGC's security concerns.
The official - whose identity the newspaper did not reveal - stressed that Tehran had not made any concessions in this regard.
Reports of the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, described by an Iranian parliamentarian as politicized (Reuters)
Earlier on Saturday, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Abolfazl Amobi, criticized what he described as the politicized reports of the Atomic Energy Agency against Tehran, stressing that his country will be more severe if the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, continues to issue such reports, As he put it.
He added in a statement that the decision issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors against Iran was not a strong-worded decision, but it was not commensurate with the extent of cooperation shown by Tehran in dealing with the agency.
He stressed that Parliament announced its support for the Iranian government's decision to reduce the volume of cooperation with the agency in measures that do not apply to the decisions of the comprehensive safeguards agreement, and to progress in the production of uranium through the use of advanced centrifuges.
Protecting Iran's nuclear facilities
In the same context, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said that his country had informed the IAEA of its procedures regarding the transfer of the activities of the Tsai plant in Karaj to the outskirts of the Natanz nuclear site.
Kamalvandi added, in statements to the Iranian news site Nornews, published on Saturday, that this transfer "aims to increase the protection factor for the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has been notified."
Kamalvandi: The IAEA is aware of the measures to enhance the civil defense capabilities of nuclear facilities (Lebanese press - archive)
Kamalvandi's comments came in response to a report by the New York Times on Friday, in which she said that Iran is digging a wide network of tunnels deep in the mountains south of the Natanz nuclear facility, to resist bombing and electronic attacks.
Kamalvandi added that although there was no commitment that it would announce activities aimed at enhancing the civil defense capabilities of nuclear facilities and establishing underground workshops to move some of its activities to new sites, Iran had informed the IAEA of all ongoing measures.
Referring to the "terrorist operations" carried out last year against the Tsai centrifuge plant in Karaj, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran added that "due to the continuing evils against Iran's nuclear facilities, it was decided to intensify security measures, especially at sensitive facilities, including production sites." centrifuges, in order to increase the protection and security factor.
On Friday, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that it was "increasing security measures in our sensitive nuclear facilities to preserve them," and that the nuclear measures it is taking are transparent, and that Israeli media propaganda will not achieve its goals, she said.
The Iranian authority confirmed that the IAEA failed in its duty, and did not condemn what it described as "terrorist operations against our nuclear program."
In recent years, there have been repeated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as repeated assassinations of Iranian scientists on Iranian soil, and Tehran has repeatedly pointed the finger at Israel.