Reza Najafi, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for the restructuring of the UN nuclear agency.

Addressing the 57th regular session of the IAEA General Conference in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Thursday, the Iranian envoy called for an increase in the number of the members of the agency’s Board of Governors as well as a revision of the make-up of the permanent seats at the UN body.

“While the General Conference consists of all member states and the Board of Governors has a limited number of members, there is no appropriate balance between the powers and duties of these two bodies, and the decisions made at the General Conference are mainly subject to the approval or prior recommendations of the Board of Governors,” Najafi said.

It is necessary to discuss the issue of striking a balance between the prerogatives and responsibilities of the two bodies, he stressed.

The Iranian ambassador proposed the formation of a consultative group comprising all members to discuss the above-mentioned proposals and make appropriate recommendations in that regard.

Envoys from Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan, Algeria, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Egypt and Lebanon lent support behind Tehran’s proposal.

The amendment in the IAEA structure proposed by the Islamic Republic has been put on the agency’s agenda for the second consecutive year.

The new blueprint laid out by the Islamic Republic comes as the IAEA member states thumbed down an Arab-sponsored resolution targeting the Zionist regime of Israel for criticism over its clandestine nuclear weapons arsenal.

Fifty-one countries voted against the so-called ‘Israeli Nuclear Capabilities’ measure and 43 states voted for it in what was viewed as a victory for the United States, which opposed the initiative.

MRKD/NJF