No sign Iran moved enriched uranium after June strikes, UN agency says

Iran’s deputy foreign minister warned on Wednesday that if three European countries move to trigger international sanctions at the United Nations, progress toward resuming the work of nuclear inspectors would be thwarted.

Kazem Gharibabadi added that France, Germany and the United Kingdom are not authorized to invoke provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 nuclear deal, since they are no longer active participants in the agreement.

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France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the European Union told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio they will trigger the UN snapback sanctions mechanism against Iran on Thursday, Axios reported, citing three sources with direct knowledge.

European officials told Axios the decision follows months of unproductive talks. The European powers, known as the E3, had warned Iran they would act by the end of August unless Tehran resumed nuclear negotiations with the US, restored access for UN inspectors and addressed concerns over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

A senior European diplomat said Iran had taken no clear steps to meet these demands and failed to offer detailed proposals during a meeting in Geneva this week. The diplomat said Iran was in "clear violation" of the nuclear agreement and left no room to extend the deadline.

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Iran has launched a clean-up operation at a nuclear-related site in northern Tehran that was struck by Israeli airstrikes in June, in a move that will likely remove evidence of any past nuclear weapons development work, a research group said on Wednesday.

Satellite images analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security show damaged buildings being cleared at the Mojdeh site, also known as Lavisan 2, over a period of several weeks this summer.

“The rapid work by Iran to quickly demolish and clear the rubble of these important buildings appears to be an effort to sanitize the site,” the institute said.

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Iran’s currency weakened sharply on Thursday as European nations prepared to trigger the return of United Nations sanctions under the snapback mechanism, deepening economic pressure on the Islamic Republic and adding to uncertainty around its nuclear program.

The sharp drop extends a steady decline in the rial over recent weeks. Currency dealers quoted the dollar at around 1,030,000 rials on the open market, according to local reports, compared to 957,000 rials last week.

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Britain, France and Germany will begin the process of reimposing United Nations sanctions on Iran on Thursday, Reuters reports, citing two European diplomats.

The move, known as the “snapback” mechanism, is being initiated after the three governments said Iran failed to offer tangible commitments during nuclear talks earlier this week. A letter will be delivered to the UN Security Council later today.

The E3 hopes the action will pressure Iran to resume full cooperation with international inspectors and engage seriously in negotiations within the next 30 days. Tehran has warned it will respond harshly if sanctions are restored.