London, Aug 28 (EFE) – The United Kingdom, France, and Germany officially informed the United Nations on Thursday they are reinstating extensive sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran a 30-day deadline to grant access to its nuclear facilities or face increased global economic isolation.
In the letter addressed to the president of the UN Security Council Eloy Alfaro de Alba, the foreign ministers of the three European countries, known as the ‘E3’ group, expressed their objective is that “Iran shall never seek, acquire or develop a nuclear weapon.”
The E3 also indicated that they will use this 30-day period before sanctions are applied in the hope that they will be able to continue the dialogue with Iran so it will agree to reverse its nuclear ambitions.
In their view, Tehran has failed to comply with the 2015 so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“Iran’s non-compliance with the JCPoA is clear and deliberate, and sites of major proliferation concern in Iran are outside of IAEA monitoring,” read the statement.
In 2018, the United States withdrew from the agreement, but France, Germany, and the United Kingdom recalled that they remained in the agreement.
“Since 2019, Iran has exceeded JCPoA limits on enriched uranium, heavy water, and centrifuges, restricted the IAEA’s ability to conduct JCPoA verification and monitoring activities, and has abandoned the implementation and the ratification process of the Additional Protocol to its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement,” the E3 explained.
“These actions contravene Iran’s commitments set out in the JCPoA and have serious implications on the capacity of Iran to progress toward developing a nuclear weapon,” it added.
In this regard, the group recalled that they have carried out “intensive” diplomatic efforts to achieve a constructive dialogue and preserve the agreement, including an extension offer whose terms have not yet been met by Iran.
“Iran has no civilian justification for its highly enriched uranium stockpile,” added the European ministers, who called the country’s nuclear program “a clear threat to international peace and security” despite Tehran’s insistence on its peaceful origin.
”We recall that if the UNSC does not adopt within 30 days a resolution to continue the lifting of UNSC resolutions on Iran, six Security Council resolutions, including on sanctions, will be restored,” they concluded.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, “this unjustified move, which is contrary to the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), constitutes an unlawful and baseless attempt to re-impose annulled resolutions and is clearly inconsistent with Resolution 2231 (2015).”
Tehran maintains that it was the United States that abandoned in 2018 the pact that limited the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, and reimposed punitive measures.
Araqchi also denounced that “it was the European Union/three European countries, not Iran, that failed to fulfill their commitments to mitigate the economic consequences of the US withdrawal.”
After the United States left the pact, Iran waited a year to begin enriching uranium above that permitted in the agreement and now has 400 kilos of material at 60 %, well above what is necessary for civilian use.
The governments of London, Paris, and Berlin indicated that they will use this 30-day period before sanctions are implemented in the hope that they can continue dialogue with Iran and that it will agree to back down on its nuclear ambitions.
The E3 offered Tehran to extend the deadline of the process, which ends on Oc. 18, if it restarted cooperation with the IAEA, which Iran paralyzed after the 12-day war with Israel in June, provided information on the whereabouts of the 400 kilos of 60 % enriched uranium, and returned to the negotiating table with the United States.
However, the Persian country rejected the proposal and has maintained that the E3 has not fulfilled the 2015 agreement, so they are not entitled to reimpose punitive economic measures.
Iran’s relations with Western countries have been strained following the 12-day war with Israel, during which the United States bombed Iran’s largest nuclear facilities after claiming that Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.
Nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have returned to Iran after the conflict, but face restrictions on their movements.
The reactivation of UN sanctions would further isolate the Persian country and hit its deteriorating economy. EFE
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