U.S. Statement – As Delivered by Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate – Agenda Item 5e – NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran
Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2023
Thank you, Chair.
The United States appreciates the continued professional and impartial efforts of the Secretariat to implement Iran’s comprehensive safeguards agreement. We wish to again commend the Director General for his extensive efforts to engage Iran to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues. We associate with the statement on these critical issues delivered by France on behalf of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Clearly, the international community remains concentrated on these matters, which strike at the core of Iran’s safeguards obligations and the broader nonproliferation regime.
We would like to use this opportunity to announce our support for the allocation of 1 million euros of our extrabudgetary funds to help the Agency sustain its verification and monitoring activities in Iran through the coming year. We understand the Agency requires 2.2 million euros for this purpose, and we encourage other Member States in a position to do so to help close the remaining 1.2 million euro gap. Our support for this allocation of our extrabudgetary funds demonstrates strong, tangible support for the IAEA and is all the more important given recent attempts by Iran to undermine the Agency’s ability to carry out its safeguards mandate effectively, including by de-designating experienced Agency inspectors in September. We request that the Director General continue to keep the Board apprised of any future efforts by the Government of Iran to diminish IAEA safeguards implementation and the impact of such actions on the Agency’s ability to carry out its mandate.
Thank you, Chair.
U.S. Statement – Agenda Item 5e – IAEA Board of Governors Meeting – November 2023
