Speaking ahead of the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna on Sunday, Mohammad Eslami said the agency’s silence in the face of such attacks, while it regularly issues statements on cases in other countries, revealed a clear example of bias.

“For instance, regarding [Ukraine’s] Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the [IAEA] director general consistently issues statements and resolutions, but when military strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, which are under strict safeguards and heavy monitoring, the agency remained silent,” he noted.

Eslami was referring to the strikes the US and Israel launched on Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, during the 12-day war of aggression launched by Israel on June 13.

He also said that Iran will present a resolution at the IAEA General Conference, which is aimed at prohibiting military attacks on nuclear facilities.

Even if the draft resolution does not reach a vote, the very act of placing it on the agenda shows that “the UN Charter has been undermined” and highlights the need for stronger protections, he noted.

“The recent aggression against Iranian territory did not just harm our nuclear industry but also struck a blow against the UN Charter,” he added.

The Iranian nuclear chief emphasized that this year’s IAEA General Conference provides an important platform for Tehran to voice its positions and challenge discriminatory practices.

He said several countries sympathetic to Iran have already acknowledged the legitimacy of its concerns.

Eslami arrived in Vienna on Sunday, where he was received by Iran’s ambassador to Austria, Asadollah Eshraq Jahromi, and Iran’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Reza Najafi.

The 69th IAEA General Conference is taking place in Vienna from September 15 to 19.