European states at the center of a sanctions drama with Tehran due for a finale next month deemed an Iranian proposal to gain a reprieve insufficient and overly demanding, a Wall Street Journal reporter said on Thursday.
The E3 - France, Germany and the United Kingdom - last month triggered a mechanism in a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran to "snapback" international sanctions within 30 days if Tehran does not convince them of its compliance.
“Iran made a new offer to E3 yesterday to avoid snapback, I understand. One which frankly is barely a bit credible. I am not alone in thinking that,” Norman posted on X, going on to cite a source familiar with the matter.
"The E3 regard Iran's latest proposal as insufficient in substance as it demands far-reaching actions like extension of the SnapBack or even complete termination (of 2231) in exchange for Iranian declarations of intent, but without any concrete actions on the Iranian side," he quoted the source as saying.
Norman was referring to the United Nations Security Council resolution number promulgating the nuclear deal which, in the Western view, authorizes the snapback move.
Iran denies seeking a bomb, criticized the US withdrawal from the agreement during President Donald Trump's first term in 2018 and say the European powers lack authority to trigger snapback sanctions because they violated their own commitments to the deal.
Any agreement to extend or avert the restored sanctions must be reached before a October 18 deadline.
The E3 "remain dedicated to diplomacy and ready to engage with Iran at any time, including" at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York next week, Norman quoted the source as saying.
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 9, with world leaders beginning to arrive in New York on September 22.
Norman, a veteran watcher of international nuclear diplomacy, paraphrased Iran’s position as “Give us everything we want, and we might give you some of what you want.”
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 by Iran and the P5+1, the United States, Britain , France, Germany, Russia and China plus the European Union, aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
