Above photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters.
As snapback sanctions loom.
Tehran rejected a US and French demand to exchange uranium, calling it a ‘noose around our neck’.
Iran has recalled its ambassadors from Germany, France, and the UK for consultations, state media reported on 27 September, after the three European states triggered the UN mechanism to reinstate sanctions.
The Foreign Ministry said the decision was taken in response to the “irresponsible action” of the European trio in reviving UN Security Council resolutions that had been repealed under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The sanctions, scheduled to take effect at midnight, will impose restrictions on Iran’s banking, shipping, arms purchases and nuclear cooperation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told reporters that Washington and its allies were seeking to topple the Islamic Republic under the guise of the nuclear dispute.
“If the goal had been to resolve concerns on the nuclear programme, we could easily do that,” he said, stressing that Iran “will never pursue nuclear weapons.”
He revealed that the US had demanded Tehran hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium in return for only a three-month reprieve from sanctions.
France, he said, had proposed a similar scheme but for just one month.
“Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?” Pezeshkian asked, calling the offer “unacceptable.” He also accused Washington of pressuring the Europeans to block any compromise.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the UN Security Council that the snapback move was “null and void” and warned it set a “dangerous precedent.” He said if international commitments can be broken “at will,” no country could rely on global agreements.
“If unlawful measures are enforced by power instead of law, the Security Council risks losing credibility and authority,” he added.
The sanctions follow the failure of a draft resolution introduced by Russia and China that sought to delay their revival for six months.
