(MENAFN) Iran has followed through on its promise to enhance its nuclear program after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution criticizing the country. On Sunday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, announced the deployment of new advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment. This move comes after the IAEA’s board of governors approved a resolution on Thursday condemning Iran’s lack of transparency regarding its nuclear activities. While China, Russia, and Burkina Faso opposed the resolution, it was passed with 19 votes in favor and 12 abstentions.

Ghalibaf condemned the resolution, calling it a product of the West’s “politically unrealistic and destructive approach” toward Iran’s nuclear program. He argued that Western nations, especially the US, used Iran’s nuclear activities as a pretext for their own actions, damaging the IAEA’s credibility. In response, Iran is advancing its nuclear capabilities to safeguard national security outside of IAEA protocols.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, despite Western claims that it is a covert attempt to build nuclear weapons. The 2015 nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, collapsed after the US withdrawal in 2018. Since then, Iran has expanded its enrichment efforts, with the IAEA warning that it is nearing the threshold for nuclear weaponization. Iran has stated it is open to renegotiating the deal, but only if new terms are agreed upon.

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