Iran-UK ties tank just as Europe weighs sanctions option

As European powers are in tense talks with Iran over whether to impose punishing sanctions over its nuclear program, terrorism-related arrests of Iranians on UK soil and a drama over detained Britons are pushing London-Tehran ties to new lows.

The European Union and the UK on Monday expressed deep concern over Iran’s expanding nuclear program and what they called its destabilizing activities and hostage diplomacy in a joint statement.

Tensions between Tehran and London have ratcheted up sharply in recent weeks, likely sharpening the collective European tack on Iran.

"Let me be clear, we will not tolerate growing state backed threats on UK soil. The Iranian regime poses an unacceptable threat to our domestic security which cannot continue," British interior minister Yvette Cooper told parliament on Monday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned the UK’s chargé d'affaires in Tehran to protest the arrest of several Iranian nationals in the UK in connection with alleged spying and terror-related activities. On Monday, Iran's ambassador to London Ali Mousavi was summoned in response.

British authorities charged three Iranian nationals under the National Security Act on Saturday for conducting surveillance against journalists from Iran International. Earlier this month, five other Iranian nationals were detained in a separate counter-terrorism operation.

The case has added urgency to ongoing debates in the UK Parliament over whether to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

Over 550 members of the UK Parliament and peers have signed a letter urging the British government to move forward with the designation, reflecting growing bipartisan concern over Iran’s activities in the UK and abroad.

Tense meeting in Istanbul

The EU statement released on Monday came after a meeting of senior diplomats of the UK, France, and Germany –collectively known as the E3– with two Iranian deputy foreign ministers in Istanbul on May 16 to discuss the future of the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA).

The three European powers are not directly involved in ongoing Tehran-Washington talks. However, they can trigger its snapback mechanism of the JCPOA before an October deadline and reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran should talks with Washington fail.

Quoting unnamed sources, Iran’s conservative Farhikhtegan newspaper reported on Sunday that the atmosphere of the meeting in Istanbul on May 16 was highly tense, with the European side allegedly issuing serious threats to impose additional sanctions on Iran—potentially exceeding the scope of UN sanctions—if Tehran fails to comply with future agreements.

The European side, the report claimed, also demanded that any potential Tehran-Washington deal include a clause— which it referred to as “snapback-plus”—that would allow the E3 to reimpose UN sanctions in the future if Iran violated the JCPOA.

Broader grievances, distrust

Beyond the nuclear file, the E3 has cited a wide range of concerns in their dealings with Tehran: Iran’s ballistic missile program, its support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict, threats to European national security, ongoing human rights violations, and the detention of European nationals.

Iran charged a British couple on a road trip in the country with espionage in February, drawing London's ire. France too is irate at Iran's detention of two French citizens for three years, deepening collective European mistrust with Tehran.

For its part, Iran accuses the E3 of failing to uphold their economic commitments under the JCPOA following the US withdrawal. Iranian officials argue that European governments and companies yielded to American pressure, rendering the promised sanctions relief largely ineffective.

Tehran also accuses the E3 of aligning too closely with US and Israeli positions on regional security issues.

Iranian foreign minister hot and cold

Despite the strained atmosphere, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has continued to espouse a conciliatory tone in public statements towards the remaining Western signatories of the JCPOA, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018.

“Iran is ready, should it see genuine will and an independent approach from the European side (parties to the 2015 nuclear deal), to begin a new chapter in its relations with Europe,” he told a diplomatic forum in Tehran on May 18.

Nonetheless, Araghchi has issued a stern warning cautioning that any move by the E3 to trigger the snapback mechanism could mark not only the end of Europe’s role in the nuclear agreement but also push Iran toward more drastic measures.

Iranian officials have threatened withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if talks with the US fail and sanctions remain.

Adding to the diplomatic strain, the E3 have so far not responded to Araghchi’s April 24 proposal to visit London, Paris, and Berlin and offer to engage in direct talks on the nuclear deal and other mutual concerns.