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Iran will decide on further cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog only if a new arrangement is agreed in line with parliamentary law, and subject to approval by the Supreme National Security Council, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Thursday.
Mohammad Eslami said the condition follows consultations between IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Iran’s foreign minister. He added that assessments of damage to nuclear facilities from recent attacks are still underway.
The Islamic Republic should respond to possible UN sanctions with threats of its own, including quitting the nuclear treaty and restricting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Kayhan newspaper wrote on Thursday.
The newspaper, published under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative, dismissed renewed talk of reimposing UN sanctions through the snapback mechanism.
“The West understands the language of threat and can only be forced to retreat by displays of power and deterrence,” wrote the daily.
“The outcome of all present realities shows that today the strategy of the Islamic Republic is not negotiation and passivity, but reciprocal threat.”
It argued that UN resolutions, diplomatic maneuvering, or the reactivation of UN sanctions would not determine Iran’s fate.
Kayhan urged Iranian authorities to take steps to signal defiance, including withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and imposing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the face of threat, there is no answer other than threat,” it added.
Satellite imagery shows no evidence that Iran has moved its near-weapons-grade uranium from the Isfahan facility following US airstrikes in June, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday.
“There is nothing to contradict the notion that the material is where it was,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told reporters in Washington, while urging Tehran to resume full cooperation.
Inspectors have not regained access to Iran’s key nuclear sites since the June war between Israel and Iran. Talks in Geneva between European powers and Tehran ended Tuesday without a breakthrough.
Grossi warned that the agency remains unable to verify the condition or location of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, estimated at more than 400 kilograms before the conflict.
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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