Iran says France, Germany and Britain have no right to reimpose UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 accord, which they have threatened to do if Iran does not agree to curb uranium enrichments and resume cooperation with nuclear inspectors.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said European powers had no right to trigger so called “snapback” sanctions under a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, nor do they have the right to extend the October deadline to trigger them.
This comes after Iranian diplomats met in July with representatives from France, Germany and Britain – known as the E3 – for the first time since Israel attacked Iran in June.
The 12-day war between Iran and Israel derailed Tehran's nuclear negotiations with the United States.
Iran also suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing the agency's failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
The E3 had threatened to trigger the "snapback mechanism" by the end of August if Iran did not resume cooperation with the IAEA.
The mechanism would reimpose wide-ranging UN sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 accord.
The Europeans reportedly offered to extend the deadline for the sanctions if Iran resumed nuclear talks with the IAEA.
On Wednesday, Araghchi said Iran rejected any extension.
"When we believe that they do not have the right to implement snapback, it is natural that they do not have the right to extend its deadline either," he told the state news agency IRNA.
"We have not yet reached a basis for negotiations with the Europeans," he added.
Iran said that reimposing sanctions would be illegal, and it has warned of consequences to the Europeans if they move forward with them.
(with AFP)
