MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should stick to the principle of impartiality with regard to Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
"At the beginning of our interview, you said that the agency had failed to condemn these bombings, although bombing of IAEA-monitored facilities <…> constitutes a blatant violation of all rules and procedures. That is why it is absolutely understandable that Iran is not quite happy about this, to put it mildly," he said. "This question should be referred to [IAEA Director General] Rafael Grossi and his staffers, so that the principle of impartiality is applied in full and so that they do not try to make political steps in certain situations, playing into the hands of this or that party."
"I understand perfectly well that in this situation, the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot resume its dialogue with the IAEA as if nothing had happened," Lavrov added. "We will encourage the resumption of Iran-IAEA cooperation, but it should be fair and based on principles that are acceptable to the Islamic Republic of Iran and are not violated."