Fifty Senate Republicans wrote to the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany, urging them to press ahead with the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on Iran, Jewish Insider reported on Wednesday.
“While we back diplomatic efforts to restore Iran’s compliance with its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) commitments, the international community should not allow hollow gestures and cynical threats from Tehran to stop the snapback process,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Sanctions relief should only be negotiated after snapback is fully implemented.”
The letter, led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, said that dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, restoring full IAEA inspections and halting Tehran’s support for proxy groups and ballistic missiles should be the “minimum” bar for any relief.
The senators called for the closure of Iranian banks in Europe and tougher action against oil sales to China, arguing that “closing off the regime’s financial pathways will curb the regime’s aggression.” They thanked the E3 for their “leadership” in triggering the mechanism.
The appeal comes after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Wednesday that “the window for finding a diplomatic solution” was closing fast. Germany also said Tehran has yet to take the “reasonable and precise actions necessary” to extend the UN resolution underpinning the 2015 nuclear deal.
Under the process, UN sanctions on Iran will automatically return by late September unless the Security Council votes otherwise.
“Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of resolution 2231,” the German Foreign Office said on social media after a call between the E3 – Britain, France and Germany – the EU’s foreign policy chief and Iran’s foreign minister.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that the call was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon but warned that Tehran could take reciprocal measures if pressured.
“If other parties fail to fulfill their commitments or seek to pressure Iran through coercive means, naturally no one can claim that Iran must remain committed to the agreement,” he told reporters in Tehran.
Baghaei also rejected US criticism of Iran’s missile program, saying Washington had no authority to dictate the country’s defense policy. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to preserve its independence at any cost and firmly resist the excessive demands of foreign powers -- including the United States and Israel,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Jerusalem earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Iran’s missile ambitions already threaten Persian Gulf states and Europe.
“A nuclear Iran governed by a radical Shia cleric that possesses not just nuclear weapons potentially, but the missiles that could deliver those weapons far away is an unacceptable risk,” Rubio said, vowing continued “maximum economic pressure” until Tehran changes course.
According to Iranian outlets including Ensaf News, the court found Seghati (also Seqati) guilty of “lavat tafkhizi,” a same-sex act defined under Iran’s Islamic penal code as non-penetrative sexual contact between men.
Both Seghati and the other man seen in a leaked video were handed 100 lashes and prison exile terms of one and two years respectively, reports said.
Iran’s penal code prescribes severe punishments for same-sex relations, including flogging and, in cases of penetrative intercourse or repeat offenses, the death penalty. Rights groups have long criticized these provisions, but Iranian authorities say they are enforcing Islamic law.
The scandal began in July 2023 when a video surfaced online allegedly showing Seghati engaged in sexual activity with another man. The leak led to his dismissal from office and triggered a political storm due to his past role as a vocal enforcer of Iran’s mandatory hijab rules.
Ensaf News, citing an image of the judgment, also reported that the son of a former senior Gilan official was sentenced to 10 years in prison and exile for orchestrating what authorities described as a criminal network that used secretly recorded videos to discredit rivals. Other defendants are said to remain under investigation.
“Our defensive and combat readiness has reached a level that deters enemies from committing miscalculations, including thoughts of renewed invasion of the country,” Mousavi said.
“We thank God that, thanks to the vigilance and wisdom of the armed forces and the use of historical experience, our defensive and combat preparedness has reached a stage that prevents enemies from making calculation errors.”
He described boosting defensive and offensive capabilities across the military as an “undismissable strategic priority” and called for greater use of the IRGC’s paramilitary Basij volunteer force to expand Iran’s deterrent power and operational reach.
“These strategies will guarantee lasting security and Iran’s deterrent defensive power against any aggression,” he added.
Israel launched a 12-day campaign that killed Iranian nuclear scientists and hundreds of military personnel and civilians and was followed by US bombings of key nuclear sites, while Iranian counterattacks killed 31 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.
US and Israeli officials said the strikes were intended to block Iran from developing nuclear weapons. European powers have pressed for renewed diplomacy and the restoration of UN sanctions, while Tehran denies pursuing a bomb and describes the measures as diplomatic coercion.
"The United States is in no position to make decisions about Iran’s national defence capabilities. The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to preserve its independence at any cost, stand on its own feet, and firmly resist the excessive demands, aggression, and acts of hostility by foreign powers -- including the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel)."
His remarks echoed those of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who earlier this month said that US demands for missile curbs “set a path that negates any talks.”
A sixth round of indirect US-Iran talks was suspended in June after Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting waves of Iranian missile retaliation against Israel.
Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian use and denies developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. It argues that defense capabilities, including long-range missiles, cannot be part of any nuclear negotiations.
The United States has repeatedly said Iran’s ballistic missile program poses a threat to regional and global security and has sought to tie limits on missiles to any future nuclear diplomacy.
A June Congressional Research Service report said Western governments fear Iran’s enrichment activity could be paired with long-range delivery systems, and US lawmakers have mandated sanctions across multiple defense and foreign policy bills targeting missile development.
The State Department has imposed waves of sanctions on Iranian and Chinese entities accused of supplying materials for missile propellants and other components.
Under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, the US has identified 10 strategic materials -- including alloys, magnesium and specialized aluminum -- as controlled inputs for nuclear and missile programs.
The US has paired these restrictions with measures against Iran’s missile and drone proliferation. In December 2024, it sanctioned an IRGC Aerospace Force commander and two Iran-based companies supporting the production of Shahed-136 drones and ballistic missiles, accusing Tehran of enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine and destabilizing the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Jerusalem earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Iran’s missile ambitions already threaten Persian Gulf states and Europe.
“A nuclear Iran governed by a radical Shia cleric that possesses not just nuclear weapons potentially, but the missiles that could deliver those weapons far away is an unacceptable risk,” Rubio said, vowing continued “maximum economic pressure” until Tehran changes course.
In recent weeks, senior Iranian officials have issued increasingly direct warnings. A member of parliament’s National Security Committee, Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, said Iranian missiles can already reach all European countries and could target US cities if launched from naval vessels positioned offshore.
“We can move our ships to within 2,000 km of the US and from there target Washington, New York, and other cities,” he said.
Iran’s defense ministry has also announced that new generations of missiles with “far greater capabilities” than those used during June’s 12-day war with Israel are now ready for deployment.
“If the Zionist enemy embarks on the adventure again, we will undoubtedly use them,” Defense Minister Aziz Nassirzadeh said last month.
Also on Wednesday, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said that Tehran’s defensive preparations had deterred enemies from launching a fresh assault.
Snapback sanctions
Baghaei said Iran would fight until the last moment to prevent the restoration of UN sanctions under the so-called snapback mechanism, triggered last month by Britain, France and Germany.
He denounced the move as unjust and illegal, warning that if sanctions were reimposed, Tehran would end its recent understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed in Cairo earlier in the month.
“Iran has never turned its back on diplomacy. But if hostile action is taken against us, any understanding with the IAEA will be considered terminated,” he said. “It is Iran’s right that if the other side fails to meet its commitments and seeks blackmail, no one can claim that Iran must remain bound by this understanding."
Baghaei added that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will speak with his British, French and German counterparts on Wednesday.
A French diplomatic source told Reuters that the call aims to discuss the impending reimposition of sanctions and to reaffirm conditions they had set to Tehran that would enable that decision to be delayed.
Restrictions on Iranian delegation
The spokesman criticized what he called “unprecedented” US restrictions on visas for Iranian officials attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying such measures violated America’s obligations as host country of UN headquarters.
“Some visas have been issued, but the process has been slow and irregular. Such behavior questions the credibility of the United States,” Baghaei said.
Relations with Syria
On Syria, Baghaei said Iran was not rushing to restore full diplomatic relations but maintained its friendship with the Syrian people. He condemned Israeli air strikes inside Syria and stressed Tehran’s support for the country’s territorial integrity.
“The severance of relations between two Muslim countries is not eternal. Whenever it is determined that renewed ties with Iran are in the interest of the Syrian people, reciprocal readiness will exist,” he said.
Baghaei accused Israel of threatening regional and global security through military actions in multiple countries and said Iran was working with regional neighbors to build “collective security without reliance on outside powers.”
Baghaei added that Tehran values regional efforts to ease dialogue with Washington but stressed that no state has been designated as a formal mediator.
He added that Iran would continue to engage in indirect talks based on its own national interests while rejecting speculation that outside powers were steering the process.
He added that European states should respond positively to Iran’s cooperative stance with the IAEA and resist US and Israeli pressure. “Any escalation would benefit no one,” he warned.
