“There is no doubt that the international community's silence in the face of the repeated threats by this regime has recently emboldened it. It is clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its right to respond to the aggressive acts of the Zionist regime,” Eslami said Monday while addressing the 67th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
The remarks came days after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday to issue an explicit nuclear threat against Iran.
“Iran must face a credible nuclear threat. As long as I’m prime minister of Israel, I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said on Friday.
Eslami also said the Israeli regime’s threats against Iran’s nuclear scientists are a violation of the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Charter.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the initiator of the proposal for a nuclear-free Middle East, once again expresses serious concerns about the clandestine military nuclear program of the Zionist regime,” he stated.
Iran’s nuclear chief added that the Israeli regime’s refusal to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has turned it into “a constant threat” to international peace and security.
“Consequently, it has endangered not only the stability and security of the region, but also the unity and credibility of the NPT and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he pointed out.