Theran – The UN Security Council on Friday is preparing to vote for a resolution announced by China and Russia, calling for a broader sanctions relief and increased sanctions in Iran, which began the process of E3 (Germany, Britain and France) reviving in late August.
The embargo was fired in 2015 under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCOPA), a contract between Iran, E3, China, Russia and the United States, restricting Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the agreement that came after years of diplomatic efforts was ineffective as long as Washington retreated in 2018 and began to span Iran economically. European signatures of the deal did not withdraw, but began to scrap their commitments like the US. Iranians also began to reduce some of the JCPOA’s promises a year and a half after being basically demolished by the West.
The 2015 agreement contained clauses that were informally known as “snapback” mechanisms. This allowed any party to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran if the party was deemed non-compliant. The European decision to trigger a process of reviving these anti-Iranian UN sanctions has sparked the outrage of Iranians who claimed that Europeans lack the right to do so, citing their own failure to their own commitment and support to the US and Israeli strikes in June, which targeted Iranian nuclear facilities. Snapback regulations were set to expire in October.
This week, representatives from Iran, Germany, France and the UK held multiple meetings on the bystanders of the UN General Assembly to explore possible sanctions relief. Through these consultations, Europe consistently promoted a narrative of incompatibility on the part of Tehran. However, reviews of snapback-related negotiations over the past few months reveal the history of integrity and diplomatic efforts that Iran has demonstrated. The recent entry by French President Emmanuel Macron said Israeli Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut presented Europeans with a “rational” offer that he ultimately rejected. Macron’s excuses offered for rejection didn’t make much sense.
The main concern in Europe is to ensure that the US will provide their demands, demands that are deemed illogical and unacceptable, not just by Iranians, but also by observers and analysts. Europe is particularly keen to take part in “direct” consultations with Washington over the nuclear program, despite attacking Iran in ongoing negotiations just days before the US and Israel were scheduled to be held in the sixth round.
However, Iran is dealing with two other demands. Europe called for the return of IAEA inspectors to the country after Iran suspends cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog following an attack on its nuclear site. Iran promoted this through a contract signed with the IAEA in Cairo earlier this month. Regarding the country’s stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of rich uranium, the Tehran Times understands, Iran has agreed to a creative solution proposed by a friendly country. This involved temporarily moving some of the material as a trust building measure as a practical approach to solving major sticking points. However, Europe will abandon both these breakthroughs if it cannot ensure the passage of Chinese and Russian resolutions. Some Iranian officials are calling for more dramatic measures, such as leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or building nuclear weapons.
Before the vote, Araguchi said in a post on X that Iran “suggested multiple proposals to keep the windows for diplomacy open.” However, he added that while the US “doubled its instructions”, E3 “failed to return”.
“In the face of this obvious E3-US escalation policy, Iran urges council members to act responsibly and stand on the right side of history by supporting diplomacy, justice and international law,” the top diplomat has been added.