Iran confirms new envoy to Azerbaijan, warns against Western pressure on IAEA

Iran has officially appointed a new ambassador to Azerbaijan, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced at a press conference.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei confirmed the appointment, describing the diplomat as “very experienced and well-known,” with expertise in the Eurasian region. However, he did not reveal the ambassador’s name, citing confidentiality protocols, Caliber.Az reports via Iranian media.

Transitioning to the nuclear oversight issue, Baghaei addressed the contentious International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear program. He asserted that the latest document “has been prepared under the influence of a number of European states,” reflecting what Tehran views as political interference in the agency’s work. The spokesman lamented that such actions “damage the status of an international organization.”

Asked about the IAEA’s report, Baghaei reminded Western powers that their attempts to leverage multilateral institutions for political ends have become an “inauspicious precedent.” He emphasized, “Such Western schemes will definitely get nowhere.”

Characterizing the report as “hackneyed and exaggerated,” Baghaei underscored the pressures faced by both the IAEA director general and the agency itself, cautioning against allowing external influence to skew impartial assessments. “We are aware that both the (IAEA) director general and the agency (IAEA) have been recurrently under pressures. However, this should not force the IAEA to draft a biased report against a member state under the influence of others,” he added.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) jointly condemned the report in a statement released on May 31, protesting that it was issued “with political objectives and through pressures,” and that it “has gone beyond the UN nuclear chief’s mandate.”

Despite the criticism, Baghaei affirmed that Tehran “does not want our cooperation with the IAEA to be affected” and that Iran is “closely monitoring the actions of the Western parties” while preparing to “adjust our next steps” accordingly.

By Vafa Guliyeva