Britain, France, and Germany on Friday urged Iran to meet three key conditions in order to delay their move to reimpose United Nations sanctions, offering a six-month window for negotiations to revive a deal addressing Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The envoys of the three countries collectively known as the E3 issued a joint statement ahead of a closed-door Security Council meeting, a day after they triggered a 30-day process to restore sanctions under the so-called “snapback” mechanism. The step followed longstanding concerns about Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and restrictions on international monitoring.
The E3 said sanctions could be held off if Iran granted renewed access for U.N. nuclear inspectors, addressed questions over its uranium reserves, and engaged in talks with the United States.
“Our asks were fair and realistic,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters as she read the statement, flanked by her German and French counterparts. “However, as of today, Iran has shown no indication that it is serious about meeting them. We urge Iran to reconsider this position … and help create the space for a long-term diplomatic solution.”
Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani swiftly rejected the conditions, calling the E3 proposal “full of unrealistic preconditions.”
“They are demanding conditions that should be the outcome of negotiations, not the starting point, and they know these demands cannot be met,” Iravani said. He instead urged support for “a short, unconditional technical extension of Resolution 2231,” the 2015 nuclear agreement that lifted sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Russian and Chinese Mediation
Russia and China, both strategic allies of Iran, have circulated a draft Security Council resolution that would extend the 2015 deal by six months and call for the immediate resumption of negotiations. The pair have yet to seek a vote, but notably dropped earlier language that would have barred the E3 from pursuing sanctions.
Iravani welcomed the Russian and Chinese initiative as a “practical step” to buy more time for diplomacy. Any resolution would require at least nine votes in favour and no veto from the Council’s five permanent members – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.
Inspectors Return
In a separate development, U.N. nuclear inspectors have returned to Iran for the first time since cooperation was suspended in June, after attacks on nuclear facilities blamed on Israel and the United States. However, Tehran has not yet agreed on terms for the full resumption of work with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The standoff underscores the deep divisions among world powers over Iran’s nuclear programme, with the E3 pressing for firm guarantees, Iran demanding flexibility, and Russia and China advocating more time for diplomacy.
