Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone with his French, German, and British counterparts, seeking to avoid the reimposition of UN sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program, just days ahead of a European deadline. The call came as the three countries threatened to invoke the “snapback” provision of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The Europeans’ concern over Iran’s nuclear program has grown since Tehran cut off all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the June war between Israel and Iran. This has left the international community further blinded to Iran’s program, including its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity.
Iran insists its program is peaceful, but enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels has raised concerns among the US, IAEA, and other countries. The US says Iran had a nuclear weapons program up until 2003.
Araghchi criticized the European countries’ “legal and moral qualifications” to threaten sanctions, but insisted talks would continue. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed the call and said another round of discussions would happen next week.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed this sentiment, saying “time is very short.” The European nations warned Iran in a letter on August 8 that it would proceed with “snapback” if Tehran didn’t reach a “satisfactory solution” to the nuclear issues by August 31.
Restoring the IAEA’s access to Iran’s nuclear program is key to the talks. However, tensions remain high due to Iranian threats against the IAEA director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, and his potential candidacy for the UN secretary-general position.
The “snapback” power in the nuclear accord expires in October, putting pressure on the Europeans to potentially use it as leverage with Iran before losing that ability.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-european-nations-nuclear-program-iaea-snapback-d35e9753e24c0ddeabbb032b156b42d0