Iran: No Talks under Pressure

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has dismissed the idea of holding negotiations under “threats or coercion”, describing a proposal from Russia and China toward resolving nuclear issues as a “practical step.”

Speaking to a gathering of reporters on Friday in New York, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani categorically rejected the unlawful notification by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to trigger the dispute resolution procedure under the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that it sidesteps the mechanism.

On Thursday, the three European states – Britain, France and Germany – invoked the anti-Tehran snapback procedure, a clause enshrined in the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

The clause reinstates pre-JCPOA era sanctions on Iran over claims of the Islamic Republic’s “significant non-compliance” with the landmark pact.

According to Iravani, the move has been done “with the sole intention of blackmailing Iran and exerting political pressure.”

“The E3 has no legal or moral standing to use the so-called snapback. Their notification is null and void,” he added.

The Iranian envoy stated that the E3 has failed to meet its own obligations, noting that several Security Council members, including China and Russia, agreed that the E3 had not followed the proper procedures.

“The E3 and the US violated the JCPOA first. They cannot now claim to act in good faith,” he said.

He was referring to the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA under President Donald Trump in 2018 and the subsequent failure of the European parties [E3/EU] to meet their own commitments, which included the imposition of new, unlawful sanctions.

He added that Iran has consistently notified the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, and the EU as the JCPOA coordinator, the repeated failures and significant non-compliance of the United States and the E3 over the past years.

The Iranian foreign minister said the European troika’s move to trigger the snapback mechanism of sanctions on Iran will turn it into a permanently spent force.

Iran’s remedial steps have been gradual, proportionate, and fully legal, he said, noting that the E3 action distorts reality, rewards the violator and punishes the victims.

The envoy maintained that Iran has remained committed to diplomacy, adding that the failure of talks was due to the US and E3, not Iran.

He also noted that while Iran was pursuing diplomacy, the country’s safeguard nuclear facilities were attacked, an act of aggression that was supported by the US and justified by the E3.