Iran's Vienna mission criticizes IAEA chief for selective condemnation

Iran's delegation in Vienna issued a statement on Monday responding to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's condemnation of an attack at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, questioning why similar language has not been applied in other cases. The mission said it was notable that Grossi could clearly use the phrase "strongly condemns" in that instance, but asked why the same standard is not applied consistently across all situations.

The statement referred to an image of Grossi condemning the killing of a worker at the Zaporizhzhia facility. It said that when U.S. and Israeli bombs struck Iran's peaceful and protected nuclear facilities — an event the mission described as unprecedented in the agency's history — or when Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, those actions were never condemned. In those cases, the delegation said, the director general apparently considered condemnation to fall outside his "scope" and "work."

The Iranian mission argued that selective outrage is not one of the pillars of nuclear safety and safeguards, but rather one of the pillars of resume-building and career advancement. It added that institutional and organizational responsibility is not optional, and that professionalism requires consistent and stable commitment and performance.

The statement reflects long-standing Iranian objections to what Tehran describes as uneven treatment by the IAEA and its leadership regarding attacks on nuclear infrastructure and the targeting of Iranian scientists. Iran has repeatedly raised the issue at the agency's governing bodies in Vienna, where its mission is based.

The Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported the statement and the mission's remarks.