TEHRAN – Russia has strongly rebuked the United States over its calls for Tehran to abandon its peaceful nuclear program, reaffirming that the Islamic Republic possesses an inalienable right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy under international law.
In a post on X on Friday, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations, slammed Washington for relying on “wrong assumptions” regarding non-proliferation norms and the mandate of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Iran is not obliged to abandon its nuclear program. It is Iran’s inalienable right,” Ulyanov emphasized. “Unfortunately, the position of the Republican administration is based on wrong assumptions of non-proliferation norms and the IAEA activities.”
The Russian diplomat made the remarks in response to US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who claimed Tehran had “broken the rules” by enriching uranium to 60 percent.
Iran has maintained a firm, principled stance regarding its peaceful atomic activities, particularly in the aftermath of the unprovoked US-Israeli military aggressions in June 2025 and February 2026. In both instances, the aggressors struck civilian and nuclear infrastructure in flagrant violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the UN Charter.
Following the initial aggression, which occurred amid indirect diplomatic engagements, the Iranian Parliament unanimously passed legislation in June 2025 suspending all cooperation with the IAEA. The decisive move came after the agency adopted a politically motivated resolution that set the stage for foreign strikes, followed by the UN nuclear watchdog’s refusal to condemn the illegal attacks on Iranian facilities.
Under the law, IAEA inspectors will not be permitted to resume monitoring unless verifiable security guarantees are established, subject to the approval of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). Senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, have repeatedly stressed that neither Tehran’s legitimate nuclear rights nor its conventional deterrent capabilities are up for negotiation.
China also rallied behind Tehran. Addressing a recent UN General Assembly session, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Sun Lei, reiterated that “Iran’s legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should be respected.”
Sun held Washington responsible for the current crisis, pointing to its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), brutal “maximum pressure” campaigns, and military escalations during ongoing diplomacy.
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