JURIST - Paper Chase: Iran calls IAEA referral to Security Council 'unlawful'

[JURIST] Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Monday that the resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website; JURIST news archive] Board of Directors to refer Iran to the UN Security Council was a "hasty and unjustified decision without any legal and technical basis." Interviewed [recorded audio] on BBC Radio 4, Soltanieh also asserted that the Board's vote on the resolution [text, PDF] should have been delayed until March to allow him to file an official report. The report, Soltanieh said, would "thoroughly explain why there are serious difficulties to justify legally this resolution."

Also on Monday, Iran made good on its promise to no longer comply [JURIST report] with the so-called "Additional Protocol" [model text, PDF] of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) [text] and ordered the IAEA to remove surveillance cameras and agency seals [CTV report] from sites and nuclear equipment. On Saturday, the IAEA voted 27-3 [JURIST report] to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, which has the power to issue diplomatic and economic sanctions. The UK Press Association has more.

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