VIENNA, March 2. /TASS/. The current developments in Iran are directly related to the IAEA's mandate, and Russia expects the agency's leadership to provide clear assessments of Israel's and the United States' actions, Russian Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said at a special session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the situation around Iran.
TASS has summed up the diplomat’s key statements
The objective of attacks
Statements by the United States and Israel "leave not the slightest doubt that their sole objective is the overthrow of the legitimate government of Iran and the complete destruction of its statehood."
The United States is viewing nuclear non-proliferation as an instrument for settling political scores: "The concerns declared over the past quarter century in the context of Iran’s nuclear program were merely a facade for pursuing this single objective. This demonstrates that non-proliferation is regarded in Washington exclusively as an instrument for settling political scores with states whose independent policies and sovereign choices they find unacceptable."
IAEA reaction
The ongoing developments in Iran have "a direct and immediate bearing" on the IAEA’s mandate and requite its immediate reaction.
Russia expects "clear assessments" of Israel and the United States’ actions from the IAEA leadership: "The time for juggling vague language and playing at equidistance has passed. We have no right to ignore the grave consequences of the reckless steps taken for the global non-proliferation regime, the cornerstone of which is the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - TASS)."
Russia’s position
Russia "strongly and categorically condemns" the United States and Israel’s aggression against Iran, "the destructive consequences of which have already spread to other countries of the region": "The scenario of the attacks (on Iran by the United States and Israel) of June 2025 has been repeated almost identically."
To avoid catastrophic consequences for the entire Middle East region, the United States and Israel must "immediately cease military actions and return the situation onto a political and diplomatic track of settlement."
"Nuclear facilities must under no circumstances become targets of attacks."