Iran has vowed to take appropriate reciprocal action after Australia’s expulsion of the Islamic Republic’s ambassador over allegations of “anti-Semitism,” stressing that acts of religious discrimination have no place in the nation’s culture, history, or faith.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remarks during a presser on Tuesday, shortly after a related announcement by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Baghaei communicated Iran’s “absolute” rejection of such accusations, pledging due retaliation in the face of any such “improper and unjustifiable diplomatic” action.

‘Anti-Semitism a Western phenomenon’

Dismissing the existence of any anti-Semitic inclinations across Iran’s time-honored cultural, historical, and religious background, the spokesman said, “This phenomenon is [rather] a Western and European one.”

“If you look at history, persecution of Jews because of their religion is a matter rooted in Europe; and it is they who must be held accountable for their historical past, which has continued to this day.”

Baghaei attributed Canberra’s decision to its trying to justify its anti-Iranian policies and make up for the few and rare instances of anti-Israeli criticism that had been recently voiced by some Australian politicians, including Albanese himself.

Europe in no position to enact ‘snapback’

Elsewhere in his remarks, the spokesman reiterated Iran’s assertion that the European trio of the UK, France, and Germany lacked all legal and moral authority to try to have the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) restore its sanctions on Iran.

The trio has been trying incessantly to force reinstatement of the bans by activating the so-called “snapback” mechanism inside a 2015 nuclear deal that has been endorsed by a UNSC resolution.

Baghaei said as a “principled position,” the Islamic Republic believed that the countries had “no right” to try to force restoration of the coercive measures.

However, Tehran was, at the same time, aware of the “unfavorable” outcome of the bans’ potential return, he said, adding that the country was sparing no efforts to prevent realization of the prospect.

Baghaei noted that as part of the most recent bout of such push, an Iranian diplomatic delegation was slated to meet with deputy foreign ministers from the European states in Geneva later in the day.

The official also noted that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also recently spoken to his counterparts from around the world and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, while consultations had taken place with officials from China and Russia, among other members of the Security Council, towards discussing the situation at hand.

“We hope that these efforts yield positive and effective results.”

‘Clear plan’

Therefore, Baghaei noted, Iran has a “clear plan” in store to deploy to either avert the likelihood or contain its fallout.

He, meanwhile, underlined that the country had to be wary of efforts aimed at abusing the situation to wage “psychological warfare” against the Iranian people.

In 2018, the United States left the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in an illegal and unilateral move that was followed by Washington’s return to its sanctions against Iran.

The European trio not only failed to live up to their promise of returning the US to the deal, but also followed in Washington’s footsteps by returning their own economic bans targeting the Islamic Republic.

Now, they are trying to trigger the mechanism, accusing the Islamic Republic of “diverting” its peaceful nuclear energy activities towards “military purposes,” despite the lack of all justifying evidence. The mechanism enables the sanctions’ return before the resolution’s expected expiration in October.

Iran and its allies, Russia and China, have repeatedly asserted that the European states’ refusal to commit to their obligations under the nuclear deal, and their alignment with the United States in the latter’s aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities in June, have robbed them of any excuse to resort to the “snapback.”

‘Iran never left negotiation table’

Baghaei, meanwhile, noted that Iran’s engagement in talks with the European parties was due to their “readiness” for negotiation as opposed to the United States, which had consistently either changed its stances or outrageously betrayed underway diplomatic processes otherwise.

“We have clearly shown that we favor negotiation,” he stated.

The official said that the US even resorted to attacking Iran’s nuclear sites after it failed to serve its own interests through diplomatic channels.

Washington, therefore, has spared no effort to upset various diplomatic processes, he said, adding, “Accordingly, no one can reprimand the Islamic Republic for distancing itself from negotiations.”

Iran defines fresh approach for working with IAEA

Baghaei separately addressed Iran’s underway interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying the Islamic Republic’s relationship with the IAEA “remains in place.”

“We are in the process of formulating a new plan and defining a fresh approach for working” with the UN nuclear watchdog, the official said.

“We continue to be a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and consider ourselves to be committed to implementing the [agency’s] Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement,” he added.

As a case in point regarding the continued relationship, he cited an IAEA meeting that was held in Vienna, during which the agency’s officials met with Iranian officials.

The meeting followed up on discussions that had taken place two weeks earlier in Tehran, during which the Islamic Republic and the agency were engaged in “consultations on formulating a framework for interaction and cooperation,” Baghaei said.