Israel warns Iran to change course on nuclear program as UN sanctions loom

Iran has so far failed to meet the conditions set by the European powers, Reuters reported on Monday citing two European diplomats.

"The ball is in Iran's camp. It is up to it to quickly take the concrete steps in the coming days to avert snapback. If not, then sanctions will be reimposed," one diplomat was quoted as saying.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will hold a meeting with his European counterparts on Tuesday, according to the two diplomats cited by Reuters.

The parades, traditionally held during Defense Week beginning on September 22, come this year in the aftermath of 12-day war with Israel in June that dealt the Islamic Republic one of its biggest ever military blows.

“Special programs this year will differ from previous years,” news outlet Tabnak cited Major General Soleiman Kamyabi, Deputy Chief of Human Resources for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, as saying.

Kamyabi said that honoring the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the eight-year Iran-Iraq War and “the 12-day imposed war” remains central to the commemorations.

Kurdistan province was the first to announce the cancellation of its parade. “No military parade will be held in Kurdistan this year,” Tasnim News quoted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Brigadier General Jamshid Rezaei as saying.

Instead, the IRGC will hold ceremonies to honor veterans, whom Rezaei credited for providing Iran’s “current security and stability.”

In Hamedan province in Western Iran, the IRGC made the same announcement, citing “emerging threats” and a desire to avoid large gatherings.

“Due to emerging threats, we will refrain from large gatherings and focus on defense readiness,” Khabar Online quoted Hossein Zare Kamali, the IRGC commander in Hamedan, as saying.

The cancellations highlight Iran’s military jitters amid heightened regional tensions, as Israeli military and civilian leaders have repeatedly said their armed quarrel with Iran may not be over.

During the June conflict, Israeli strikes killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israelis.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday there is little time left for Iran to reach a deal with European powers to delay the return of UN sanctions.

Kallas said it is "hard to tell" when asked about the chances of a deal.

"I stand ready for all the talks and also diplomatic solution. It's clear that there has to be an agreement in the end that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. That is a worry that all the countries also around Iran and wider space have," Kallas said.

"I'm really willing to explore the ways to find a diplomatic solution and it's true that the snapback has been triggered and we have limited time to come to a conclusion," she added.

Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi said the reimposition of UN sanctions under the snapback mechanism would accelerate hardship for ordinary Iranians, blaming Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for bringing the country to “the brink.”

“Khamenei and his corrupt regime have never cared—and still don’t care—about the fate of Iran or its people,” Pahlavi said on Monday.

“This evil regime has plunged our Iran into darkness,” he added.

He accused the leadership of squandering “thousands of billions of dollars” on nuclear ambitions and its allied groups in the region while depriving Iranians of water, electricity, and bread.

An Iranian lawmaker dismissed the return of UN sanctions on Tehran triggered through the so-called snapback mechanism by three European countries as an empty threat.

“The snapback (mechanism) is more like pointing a Kalashnikov without a cartridge case at people to scare them, while there are no bullets in it,” Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani, a member of Iran’s parliament said on Monday.

“There is no sanction left that the enemy has not already imposed on Iran,” he added.