The UK, France and Germany have formally notified the UN that they have triggered the restoration of sweeping UN sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran 30 days to make concessions on access to its nuclear sites or face deeper worldwide economic isolation.
UK officials said the decision had not been taken lightly and there had been intensive diplomacy to try to avert this step. The officials emphasised there was still room for last-ditch diplomacy before the sanctions “snapback” comes into force in 30 days’ time. The annual high-level UN general assembly in September is likely to involve more intensive diplomacy over the situation with Iran.
They added that Iran had been in significant non-compliance with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal since 2019, saying Tehran had been given ample opportunity to become compliant but had either been unwilling or unable to act.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) left Iran after Israel bombed its key nuclear sites, and has been unable to renegotiate a return to assess the state of those sites. Iran has allowed the IAEA inspectors to visit the Bushehr site, where refuelling is due to occur.
David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, told the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, of the decision by the three European countries in a call on Thursday morning.
Lammy said: “Despite repeated warnings, Iran has made no substantive effort to meet the conditions of our extension offer and has consistently failed to provide credible assurances on the nature of its nuclear programme.
“Whilst we have been left with no choice but to take this action, the ball remains in Iran’s court and I would welcome their return to the table with a serious offer.”
In response Araghchi said Iran was ready to resume “fair” negotiations over its nuclear programme if the west showed goodwill.
“Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s readiness to resume fair and balanced diplomatic negotiations, on the condition that the other parties show seriousness and goodwill and avoid actions that harm the chances of success,” he said in a letter sent to the European Union foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.
Araghchi had earlier said the European move was “illegal and unjustified” and that the decision needed to be reversed in the coming days.
The United Nations on Thursday called on Iran and major powers to seize the momentum to strike a nuclear deal. “In the next 30 days, there is a window of opportunity to avoid any further escalation and find a way forward that serves peace,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for secretary general António Guterres.
In a sign of the hostility to the plans to cooperate with the IAEA, an Iranian MP, Amir-Hossein Sabeti, said he had read the draft text of the agreement with the agency word for word, and described it is as a “disaster” adding: “If it is a lie, deny it and we will be happy, but if it is true, then woe betide you.”
Restoring sanctions would convert many existing – largely US and European – measures into UN-wide sanctions requiring observance by Russia and China, who finalised a draft UN security council resolution on Thursday to extend the nuclear deal for six months and urge all parties to immediately resume negotiations.
Some sanctions on the Iranian arms industry that are not currently in force will be restored. In addition, the US, as a permanent member of the UN security council, will in future have a veto over the lifting of the UN sanctions, a power it currently does not have.
The three European powers had to act now before the nuclear deal expired on 15 October and their power to reinstate sanctions ended.
Justifying the decision, UK officials said the 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran to store only 300kg of uranium enriched up to 3.67%. Instead, the stockpile was 45 times larger than this limit, with much of the uranium over the purity levels set by the 2015 agreement. Iran also had a 400kg stockpile of unaccounted highly enriched uranium.
The officials said: “We have bent over backwards to reach an agreement but there simply has not been enough of a response on the Iranian side, including eight rounds of talks this year.
“The most basic legal requirement, for the UN nuclear inspectorate to be able to access Iran’s nuclear sites, has not been met. Bluntly, we have run out of time. We cannot allow the Iran nuclear file to fall off the agenda or for sanctions to be permanently lifted while Iran’s nuclear programme escalates and IAEA access is denied in clear breach of its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.”
They said the snapback step was legal and proportionate, and the UK remained committed to a diplomatic solution. They added the UK had in June suggested a six-month delay in enforcing the sanctions on the condition that Iran allowed the IAEA back in.
The officials said Iran had stopped implementing the additional protocol allowing enhanced inspections of its nuclear sites.
Some experts fear Iran may respond by withdrawing altogether from the non-proliferation treaty at the most extreme, or hardening its opposition to the return of the IAEA.
Although the Iran nuclear file is not at the top of the White House agenda, Iranians fear it is likely soon to attract the attention of Donald Trump and Israel, raising the possibility of further attacks.
Iran is divided between those who want to accept US demands in return for the lifting of sanctions and those unafraid of further confrontation.
The Iranian leadership, caught by surprise by the June attacks, has been reorganising its defence and security leadership, and it is possible it has not had time to reach an internal consensus.
The Iranian parliament, dominated by conservatives, has set strict conditions for the return of the IAEA, but these can be overridden by Iran’s national security council.
