London: Britain warned on Wednesday that it would trigger the reinstatement of U.N. sanctions on Iran, if necessary, to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This statement came as the U.N. Security Council convened to discuss Iran’s expansion of its uranium stockpile, which is nearing weapons-grade levels. Iran has consistently denied any intention to develop nuclear weapons.
However, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has raised alarms over Iran’s "dramatic" acceleration of uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level required for weapons-grade material. Western nations argue that there is no civilian justification for enriching uranium to such high levels and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear weapons. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful.
"We are clear that we will take any diplomatic measures to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including the use of snapback (of sanctions), if needed," said Britain’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador James Kariuki, speaking to reporters ahead of the Security Council meeting. The closed-door session was called by six of the council’s 15 members: the U.S., France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, and Britain.
Iran’s U.N. mission accused the United States of attempting to weaponize the Security Council to escalate economic warfare against Iran. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Iran stated, "This dangerous abuse must be rejected to protect the council’s credibility." Following the meeting, the U.S. mission to the U.N. issued a statement asserting that Iran is "the only country in the world without nuclear weapons producing highly enriched uranium, for which it has no credible peaceful purpose." The U.S. also accused Iran of defying the Security Council and violating IAEA obligations, urging the council to "be clear and united in addressing and condemning this brazen behavior."
‘Seize the Limited Time’
U.S. President Donald Trump recently reinstated a "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran to deter Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. However, he also expressed openness to negotiations and willingness to engage with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. Trump sent a letter to Iran calling for nuclear talks, which was delivered on Wednesday, but Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the proposal for negotiations.
China announced that it will host a meeting on Friday in Beijing with Russia and Iran to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue, with both nations sending their deputy foreign ministers. "We still hope that we can seize the limited time we have before the termination date in October this year to reach a new deal so that the JCPOA can be maintained," said China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong ahead of the Security Council meeting. He added, "Putting maximum pressure on a certain country is not going to achieve the goal."
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, Germany, France, the U.S., Russia, and China, lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. However, the U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018 during Trump’s first term, prompting Iran to gradually abandon its nuclear-related commitments.
Britain, France, and Germany will lose the ability to trigger the so-called snapback of all international sanctions on Iran on October 18, when the 2015 U.N. resolution on the deal expires. Trump has directed his U.N. diplomats to work with allies to reinstate international sanctions and restrictions on Iran. Under the JCPOA’s complex two-month dispute resolution process, the European parties to the deal effectively have until early August to trigger a snapback of U.N. sanctions on Iran.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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