US urges Iran to make a deal or brace for more pressure
The United States called on Iran to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and return to negotiations over its nuclear program or face even more pressure.
The United States called on Iran to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and return to negotiations over its nuclear program or face even more pressure.
"In the absence of a deal, the United States continues to impose maximum diplomatic and economic pressure to constrain any activities, like the pursuit of a nuclear weapon that would threaten the security of US citizens, personnel, and partners in the region," acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Shea said Tehran must choose between continuing to block international oversight while supporting it's regional allied groups, or engaging in “meaningful, time-bound diplomacy” that could pave the way for peace and reintegration into the global economy.
“Iran can continue its current path of defying the NPT(Non-Proliferation Treaty)-mandated safeguards obligations in a bid to reconstitute its nuclear program in secrecy,” she said.
Iran passed the law suspending cooperation with the IAEA following last month's US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this week that Tehran has not ended cooperation with the agency. Instead, he said future coordination with inspectors would now be managed by the country’s Supreme National Security Council.
“Already, Iran's law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has obscured international visibility into its program.”
Snapback looms
Shea's warning comes amid growing pressure from the US and its European allies, who have set an end-of-August deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal or face the reimposition of full UN sanctions under the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism.
The snapback mechanism, created under UN Security Council Resolution 2231—which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal—allows any party to the agreement to reimpose sanctions if Iran is found non-compliant.
If no resolution is passed within 30 days to continue sanctions relief, all prior UN measures automatically come back into force.
Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with European powers including Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Friday in Istanbul. However, talks with the United States remain stalled after a planned sixth round in Muscat was cancelled on the eve of the Israel's June 13 strikes on Iran.
