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IAEA’s politicized use of safeguards undermines its impartiality: Russian envoy

Press TV · Nov 15, 2026

Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is losing its status as an impartial organization, mainly because of its politicized approach to Iran’s nuclear program.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant, published on Sunday, Ulyanov said that despite being a relatively effective system, IAEA safeguards are increasingly being used by Western governments as a means of exerting pressure on other countries.

“The main problem is that Western countries actively use the safeguards system as a political instrument of pressure on states they dislike. This is precisely what erodes the technical basis of safeguards and undermines the principle of impartiality,” he said.

No information on nuclear activity near Kolang Mountain

Commenting on US allegations about Iran’s undeclared nuclear activities, Ulyanov said that Russia, like the IAEA, has no information about any such activities in the area of Kolang Mountain, also known as Pickaxe Mountain, in central Iran.

“The IAEA has never reported this site. As far as we know, the agency has no information confirming that any nuclear activity could be taking place there. We also have no information on the matter. The Americans, in their usual manner, have not bothered or have been unable to substantiate their accusations,” he said.

In July, US President Donald Trump identified Kolang Mountain as a new target for a “good big strike.” The US claims that a secret nuclear facility is being built or has already been constructed beneath the mountain.

There is no publicly available information about the facility’s exact purpose, but the United States has claimed that it could house a uranium enrichment plant. US authorities have provided no evidence to support this claim.

West, IAEA powers playing meaningless games over Iran

Ulyanov said that, through the efforts of Western-majority members of the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors, “meaningless political games continue instead of serious efforts to resolve the conflict” over Iran.

“In September, the Board of Governors adopted another resolution demanding that inspectors from the agency be granted access to all Iranian nuclear facilities. This is happening at a time when Washington and Tel Aviv are regularly threatening Tehran with missile strikes which, if international officials are allowed into the relevant facilities, could put their lives in direct danger,” he said.

He added that the United States and the E3 countries (France, Britain and Germany), using their numerical majority on the IAEA Board of Governors, had called for the September resolution to be referred to the UN Security Council.

“Strictly speaking, this does not mean that the Iranian dossier was formally referred to the council. However, Western countries and Greece, which held the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, effectively used this move to stage meaningless discussions,” the senior diplomat said.

According to Ulyanov, these are “dangerous exercises leading to escalation” and “can produce no useful practical results by definition.”

November 15, 2026 - Posted by aletho | Wars for Israel | France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Russia, UK, United States