We would like to express our deep condolence to Iran's loss of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the tragic helicopter crash on 20th May and our great sympathy to the Iranian government and the Iranian people.

We would like to use this opportunity to share our views on the draft resolution "NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran" tabled by France, Germany and UK.

Tabling a resolution against a country that has recently came out of the official mourning period because of the tragic passing of its President and Foreign Minister goes beyond possible norms of diplomatic practice and etiquette. Provoking political confrontation in such a special and sensitive context is clearly not constructive for the international efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue.

We recall Iran's long-standing commitment to nuclear non-proliferation as the state party to the NPT. We welcome Iran's continued engagement with the Agency on outstanding safeguards issues and highly appreciate Director General Grossi's visit to Iran last month, as well as the positive momentums for the further dialogues and cooperation. During DG's recent visit to Iran last month, the two sides agreed to maintain communication on continuing the implementation of the Joint Statement of March 2023 and are about to discuss further cooperation. At such a time, France, Germany and UK are bent on advancing the draft resolution would only be counterproductive.

Co-authors of the draft used every single pretext against Iran in an attempt to micromanage things that are supposed to be resolved in the routine mutual cooperation between the IAEA Secretariat and Iran. This draft resolution is aimed to abuse a temporary break in the cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, ignoring recent interactions between the Director General and Iranian authorities. This draft resolution also creates a very bad precedent for the system of the IAEA safeguards. 

We wish to emphasize that the current priority for the Board is to strongly encourage and support the Agency and Iran in their engagement and pushing the Iranian nuclear issue back to the right track through constructive dialogue and cooperation. Facts have time and again prove that confrontation and pressure are not conducive to resolve difference. Rather, they risk deteriorating cooperation between the Agency and Iran and further complicating the issue. 

Unconstructive and confrontational approach selected by the co-authors of the resolution sends a clear signal to the international community, that having a simple majority is enough to impose and abuse the decision-making process at the Board of Governors. This draft resolution, if adopted, would be another mistake and miscalculation, inevitably leading to confrontation. 

We urge relevant parties to abandon their political move, carefully consider the future of the Iranian nuclear issue in a rational and responsible manner. Resolving the Iranian nuclear issue requires providing both the Secretariat and Iran with the necessary time and space to take further constructive efforts, thereby fostering a positive atmosphere conducive to political dialogue and substantive cooperation. We call upon all Member States to play a constructive role and resist any attempt to politicize the safeguards issues. We should support cooperation rather than confrontation. In this regard, we call upon Member States not to support this resolution. It would be appreciated if this Statement is published as an INFCIRC.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.