Iran FM Araghchi warns Europe against ‘reckless’ approach to nuclear deal

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, has accused the United Kingdom, France, and Germany of working with Washington to undermine Europe’s reputation.

According to Araghchi, the so-called E3’s decision to start a process that could reinstate UN sanctions “lacks any legal standing” and is unavoidable.

The truth is that they are genuinely making a mistake, Araghchi wrote.

The largest economies in Europe, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, which all have “snapback” sanctions, began in August, with a 30-day deadline to implement them after what they termed “significant” violations of a 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme.

The United States welcomed the move of the European countries, which in June bombed three nuclear facilities as part of an Israeli assault on Iran.

Araghchi accused the three countries of ignoring the fact that the US and not Iran were the parties to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Tehran complied with the agreement’s terms and took what he termed “lawful remedial measures.” However, the E3 failed to fulfill their own obligations.

After US President Donald Trump resented sanctions in 2018, European leaders once pledged to protect trade with Iran, according to Araghchi. He continued, noting that under US pressure, Europe’s pledges of “strategic autonomy” fell apart. “None of it materialized.”

He argued that Europe has instead acted as a spectator and supported Washington’s aggressive strategy. He wrote that “openly supporting illegal military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities that are protected by international law, as Germany’s chancellor has done, does not count as “participation” to the deal.”

Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, claimed in June that the Israeli occupation of Iran is beneficial.

He claimed that Israel is doing “dirty work” for all of us.

Tehran is open to dialogue, according to Araghchi in his Guardian column. Iran is prepared to strike a “realistic and lasting agreement” that includes ironclad oversight and sanctions against enrichment, he declared.

He warned that ignoring this possibility, especially given the rising tensions with Israel, could cause the region to become more unstable. Araghchi argued that Israeli provocations risk dragging the US into costly conflicts by claiming that “the powerful armed forces of Iran are ready and able to once again pummel Israel into running to “daddy” to be bailed out.

Additionally, the Trump administration asserted that discussions with Iran are still ongoing.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in a statement following E3’s announcement last month that the country was still open to direct contact with Iran in order to achieve a peaceful, lasting resolution to the Iran nuclear conflict.

“Snapback only strengthens our sincere desire to diplomacy,” says the statement.

On June 15, US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a round of nuclear discussions. However, two days before the scheduled negotiations, Israeli bombs started falling on Tehran, which put them off for good.

Iran insists that its right to enrichment is non-negotiable despite Washington’s assertion that it cannot do so domestically.

Iran has the right to enrich uranium at a low level for civilian purposes under a strict monitoring system under the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump vetoed in his first year as president of the United States.

Any party to the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism was able to start a process to reauthorize six UN Security Council sanctions resolutions, including those in the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia, or China.

Additionally, the sanctions won’t be lifted because the snapback is veto-proof, allowing Russia and China, both of its allies, to avert a reversal.

Due to Washington’s disqualification as a participant in the JCPOA, the US attempted to activate the snapback clause in place in 2020.