VIENNA: Kuwait called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provide it with the information it requires, and implement all the provisions of their joint statement. This came in a statement delivered by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Delegate to UN Organizations in Vienna, Talal Al-Fassam, at the regular session of the IAEA Board of Governors on Wednesday.

The Kuwaiti envoy commended the important IAEA roles, especially in implementing the comprehensive safeguards system under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ambassador Al-Fassam highlighted the IAEA Director General’s statement in his report to the Agency about Iran, where he stressed that Iran must resolve the outstanding issues to help the IAEA assure the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. The Kuwaiti Ambassador delivered another statement before the IAEA Board of Governors regarding the issue of verification and monitoring nuclear activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

In his statement, he said that the report issued by the IAEA Director General on August 29, 2024, indicated that the Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors, and bellows, heavy water, and uranium ore concentrate since Iran stopped implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA, including provisionally applying its Additional Protocol on February 23, 2021.

Ambassador Al-Fassam reiterated the State of Kuwait’s firm stance that every country has the right to produce, develop, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. He, however, called on Iran to continue working with the agency and fully adhere to the issued Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He voiced Kuwait’s hope that Iran would ratify and implement the Additional Protocol so that the Agency would be able to provide credible assurances regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities in Iran and ensure its status as a non-nuclear-weapon state. — KUNA