VIENNA — (AP) — Representatives of three European countries threatening to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program failed to agree with their Iranian counterpart on Tuesday on how to avoid the measures days ahead of a deadline, a diplomat said.
The diplomat said efforts would continue to search for a solution ahead of an E3 deadline at the end of this month to invoke the so-called "snapback mechanism" of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal over what the countries have deemed Iran's lack of compliance.
The snapback would mean a return to wide-ranging U.N. sanctions in place before the deal, including a conventional arms embargo, restrictions on ballistic missile development, asset freezes, travel bans and a ban on producing nuclear-related technology.
The talks in Switzerland between representatives of Britain, France and Germany — known as the E3 — and Iran “ended without a final outcome,” said the diplomat with knowledge of the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive discussions.
The talks, which had been announced by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday, follow a previous meeting between the Europeans and Iran in Istanbul on July 25.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said on X that Tehran “remains committed to diplomacy'' and that it was “high time” for the European countries “to make the right choice, and give diplomacy time and space.”
The Europeans' concern over the Iranian nuclear program, which had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels before the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June saw its atomic sites bombed, has only grown since Tehran cut off all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, in the conflict's wake.
That has left the international community further blinded to Iran’s program — as well as the status of its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, though it is the only non-nuclear-armed nation enriching uranium at that level. The United States, the IAEA and others say Iran had a nuclear weapons program up until 2003.
The Europeans agreed with the U.S. earlier this year to set an end-of-August deadline for invoking the mechanism if Iran fails to meet several conditions, including resuming negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, allowing U.N. nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites and accounting for the over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Fox News Channel's The Story with Martha MacCallum on Tuesday that a team of international inspectors was back in Iran for the first time since the war with Israel in June — when the U.S. also bombed Iranian nuclear sites, including with bunker-buster bombs.
The new development indicates that, despite its rhetoric, Iran is taking the looming threat of European sanctions seriously.
A diplomat close to the IAEA told The Associated Press that while an agreement on the level of access between the U.N. watchdog and Iran is not finalized, it is expected to be reached, and that inspection for now would only concern nuclear facilities that were not impacted by U.S. and Israeli strikes.
The snapback provision of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal can be invoked by any party if they find Iran out of compliance with the requirements. Its purpose is to swiftly reimpose all pre-deal sanctions without being vetoed by U.N. Security Council members, including permanent members Russia and China.
The E3 countries feel an urgency to use the snapback because it expires on Oct. 18 unless the council extends it. On Sunday, Russia proposed a draft resolution to delay the expiration until next spring, which would buy Iran some time.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, the deputy Russian ambassador to the U.N., said Tuesday that a second version of the proposal is being circulated among the Security Council and is supported by China, another initial party to the nuclear deal with Iran, also known as the JCPOA.
"Hopefully, it will be acceptable, and I think it will be kind of a litmus test for those who really want to uphold diplomatic efforts and for those who don't want diplomatic solutions but just want to pursue their own nationalist, selfish agendas against Iran," Polyanskiy said.
However, it is unlikely the Russian effort will receive enough support in the 15-member council to pass because it lacks an explicit mention of the conditions on Iran set by the European countries.
Iran contends there is no legal basis for the European countries to reimpose U.N. sanctions via snapback, claiming they failed to uphold the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord in 2018.
Under the 2015 deal between world powers and Iran, Tehran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. U.N. inspectors were tasked with monitoring the program.
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Amiri reported from the United Nations.
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The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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