UNITED NATIONS, August 29. /TASS/. Tehran is open to honest talks on its nuclear dossier but will not engage in them under threats, thus it rejects the E3 (the United Kingdom, Germany, France) plan on the issue and supports Russia and China’s proposal on a brief technical extension of UN Security Council resolution 2231, Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani said.
He slammed the E3 plan as a "hypocritical step." "They insist on conditions that should be the result of talks, not their starting point," he said, adding that Iran "will never yield" to the policy of pressure which is geared to "impose and dictate" rather than resolve problems.
As a constructive alternative, he voiced support for Russia and China’s proposal. "We support the idea of giving more time to diplomacy to reach a new understanding and a new deal. Russia and China’s proposal on a technical extension of resolution 2231 is a practical step on this track," the Iranian diplomat stressed.
In his words, the E3 decision is a "reckless" and "provocative escalation" undermining Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and threatening international peace and security.
On Thursday, Britain, Germany, and France activated the snapback mechanism, a process designed to restore UN sanctions on Iran. Simultaneously, the E3 countries expressed their readiness to engage in negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program for an additional 30 days. This extension aims to prolong the validity of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which sanctions the lifting of certain measures and is set to expire on October 18.
About nuclear deal
The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, with Iran in 2015, putting an end to a long-running standoff about Iran’s alleged development of nuclear weapons. However, during his first presidential term, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and re-imposed all the anti-Iranian sanctions after they began to be lifted under the deal. In response, Iran announced in 2020 that it would scale back its commitments under the JCPOA and limit access for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.
Since April 2021, negotiations involving Iran and the original signatories have sought to restore the JCPOA to its initial terms. Despite concerted efforts, these talks have so far concluded without a definitive resolution.