Iran and 11 other countries issued a joint statement at the UN General Assembly, warning that any attack or threat against peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities is a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter.
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The Islamic Republic of Iran, along with the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Zimbabwe, read a joint statement on the “prohibition of all forms of attack and threat of attack against IAEA-safeguarded nuclear facilities dedicated to peaceful purposes” during the 81st session of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly.
Emphasizing the importance of the full and effective realization of the IAEA’s objectives, the co-sponsoring countries reiterated the inalienable and non-discriminatory right of all countries to develop, research, produce, and use peaceful nuclear energy. They called an attack or threat of attack against nuclear facilities severely incompatible with the objectives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Recalling UN Security Council Resolution 487 (1981) and relevant decisions and resolutions of the IAEA General Conference, these countries warned that such attacks have severe consequences for nuclear safety and security and pose a serious threat to the integrity, effectiveness, and credibility of the IAEA safeguards system and the global non-proliferation architecture.
The statement clarified that an attack on nuclear facilities could lead to the leakage of radioactive materials with catastrophic consequences inside and outside the target country’s borders, bringing severe destructive effects on the civilian population and long-term environmental damage, while severely undermining the peaceful use of nuclear energy and international cooperation.
These 12 countries emphasized that silence in the face of attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities undermines established international norms, destroys trust in the international legal order, and increases the risk of normalizing such attacks. Therefore, nuclear facilities must not be the target of an attack or threat of attack under any circumstances.
The statement urged all UN member states to unite in explicit and decisive opposition to any attack or threat of attack against nuclear facilities to maintain the credibility of the IAEA safeguards system, strengthen nuclear safety and security, and support the peaceful use of nuclear energy and international cooperation.
