Iran said Wednesday it rejected a draft resolution by Western nations calling on it to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"They wrote a resolution and brought documents which they themselves know are not true and which are rejected by the Islamic republic," the official IRNA news agency quoted Iran's atomic energy chief Mohamed Eslami as saying.

On Tuesday, diplomats said that the United States, Britain, France and Germany had submitted the resolution to the UN nuclear watchdog.

The resolution calling on Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA comes after a report by the agency concluded there had been "no progress" in a long-standing probe into undeclared nuclear material in Iran.

The text must be discussed during a quarterly meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors, that starts on Wednesday.

The draft text seen by AFP underscored that it was "essential and urgent" for Iran to "act to fulfil its legal obligations".

An IAEA delegation was due to visit Iran this month, but Eslami said that "for the moment, no visit of the agency (IAEA) is on the agenda".

"We have responded to all of the IAEA's allegations and accusations and, if it had good intentions and a will to continue negotiations, they (Western countries) would not have presented a resolution" against Iran, he added.

It comes against the backdrop of stalled talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

The deal Iran reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States gave it relief from sanctions in return for guarantees it could not develop an atomic weapon. Iran has always denied wanting a nuclear arsenal.

The deal collapsed after Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018 under then president Donald Trump.

Eslami said that "adopting a policy of maximum pressure and spreading accusations" against Iran is in "the nature of those who multiply the sanctions".

Resolution censuring Iran submitted to UN nuclear watchdog
Vienna (AFP) Nov 15, 2022 - The United States, Britain, France and Germany have submitted a motion to the UN nuclear watchdog's board censuring Iran over its lack of cooperation with the agency, two diplomats said Tuesday.

The resolution calling on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) comes after a report by the agency concluded there had been "no progress" in a long-standing probe into undeclared nuclear material in Iran.

Traces of undeclared uranium of man-made origin had been discovered at three Iranian sites in the past.

The issue has been a point of contention during on-off talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 landmark deal that sought to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The "resolution has been submitted tonight", a European diplomat told AFP. A second diplomat confirmed the move.

The draft text seen by AFP underscored that it was "essential and urgent" for Iran to "act to fulfil its legal obligations".

A similar resolution criticising Iran was adopted at the IAEA's June meeting, with only China and Russia voting against it.

At the time, the Islamic Republic denounced the motion as "political" and responded to it by removing surveillance cameras and other equipment from its nuclear facilities.

The text must be discussed and voted on during this week's quarterly meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors that starts on Wednesday.

A simple majority of board members is sufficient to pass the resolution.

- Meeting in Tehran -

A visit by an IAEA delegation in Tehran has been scheduled for the end of the month in an attempt to make progress on the investigation.

Tehran, which maintains that its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, has been pressing the UN nuclear watchdog to drop the probe in order to revive the 2015 deal on its nuclear programme with world powers

But the IAEA has kept demanding "technically credible explanations" for the traces, including "access to locations and material", as well as the collection of samples.

Talks have been under way since April last year to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which started to unravel when the United States withdrew from it in 2018.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late last month reiterated that he saw little scope to restore the deal, pointing to the clerical leadership's conditions, as major protests roil the country.

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'No progress' in discussions with Iran: UN nuclear watchdog
Vienna (AFP) Nov 10, 2022
The UN nuclear watchdog said Thursday it had seen no progress in discussions with Iran over undeclared nuclear material at three sites, but a new visit to Tehran was planned this month. The issue has been a point of contention during on-off talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 landmark deal that sought to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. "The director general (Rafael Grossi) is seriously concerned that there has still been no progress in clarifyin ... read more