Iran has strongly criticized European nations for threatening to reimpose international sanctions over the monitoring of its nuclear program.
On Friday, Tehran officials accused European states of “political bias” after they warned that sanctions would be revived by the end of the month if Iran fails to comply with monitoring conditions. Iranian authorities insisted they have submitted fair and constructive proposals to resolve the dispute.
Tensions are rising ahead of a key United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on Friday over a resolution that would permanently lift UN sanctions on Iran. Diplomats say the measure is unlikely to gain the required nine votes, and even if it did, it would almost certainly face a veto from the United States, Britain, or France.
The European powers—Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3—initiated a 30-day process in late August to reimpose sanctions unless Tehran meets their conditions. Iranian officials have accused the trio of abusing the dispute mechanism within the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) framework, which allows sanctions to be reimposed through the so-called “snapback mechanism.”
“What Europeans are doing is politically biased and politically motivated … They are wrong on different levels by trying to misuse the mechanism embedded in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” said Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh.
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