Iran: Nuclear talks with Europe face ‘complex conditions’

Tehran (EFE).— Iran said Saturday that its nuclear dialogue with European countries is unfolding under “complex conditions,” as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom threaten to trigger the mechanism restoring international sanctions on Tehran.

“What is happening now between Iran and the three European countries (Germany, France, and the United Kingdom) is a dialogue and exchange of opinions on the nuclear issue, which has become highly complex,” Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Russia’s state news agency Sputnik in Tehran.

She stressed that Iran has never opposed dialogue with Europe but made clear that the current discussions do not amount to formal negotiations for a new agreement.

“There are no talks to reach an agreement with Europe at this moment,” Mohajerani said.

Iran and the three European countries, known as the E3, held their first formal nuclear discussions in Istanbul last Friday since Israeli and US attacks on Iranian territory in June, which included bombings of nuclear facilities.

The talks focused on the possible activation of the ‘snapback’ mechanism, which allows signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal to automatically reinstate UN sanctions lifted under the agreement if Iran is found in violation.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have threatened to invoke the measure if no agreement is reached before September, accusing Iran of breaching its nuclear commitments.

However, Tehran contends that the European powers “lack legal and logical grounds” to activate the snapback, arguing they themselves failed to honor their commitments following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018.

Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes as a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), but has threatened to withdraw from it if international sanctions are reinstated.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy rejected Iran’s claims Saturday, saying the nuclear threat from Tehran wass real.

In an interview with The Guardian, Lammy said Iranian officials “have not been able to explain why they need uranium enriched to 60 percent.”

According to the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report from late May, Iran has stockpiled more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent purity needed for nuclear weapons. EFE

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