Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said Austria should have issued entry visas to the Iranian delegation, adding that the Austrian chargé d’affaires in Tehran has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where Iran has formally conveyed its protest.

“All of this is contradictory. On the one hand, they (Westerners) prepare an incorrect report, and on the other, they prevent representatives of a country from entering to defend themselves,” Baqaei said.

“They are seeking to prevent Iran’s voice from reaching the world. Austria’s claim that it took this action under US pressure does not relieve the host government of its responsibility,” he added.

Commenting on efforts to pursue a resolution against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors, Baqaei said responsibility for any participation in an internationally wrongful act is not something that disappears with the passage of time.

“We use every opportunity to explain the issues,” he said.

The Iranian spokesperson expressed regret that, despite the issue having been repeated twice, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has once again allowed the process of forming a resolution to proceed.

“If Grossi wants to take a fair approach, he should have first condemned the actions of the United States and the Israeli regime in attacking Iran’s facilities,” Baqaei said.

Eslami’s exclusion from the IAEA conference comes amid worsening relations between Iran and Western countries. Austria, which hosts the United Nations in Vienna, has reportedly sought an exemption from the UN sanctions committee to allow Eslami to attend the gathering, but the request was not granted.

As the host country, Austria has the ability to request exemptions from travel restrictions for sanctioned officials attending UN-related conferences.