Western countries demanded Iran surrender its stocks of highly enriched uranium in exchange for only a few months of relief from UN sanctions, Iranian authorities said on Saturday, calling the offer humiliating.
“They demanded that we hand over all our enriched uranium and in exchange they give us a temporary relief of 90 days, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday.
“If we are to choose between the unreasonable demands of the Americans and the snapback, our choice is the snapback,” Pezeshkian added, hours before the return of UN sanctions against Tehran.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said Saturday that "the three European countries and the United States expected Iran to give up all its nuclear material or hand it over to them, in exchange for delaying the activation of the snapback mechanism by three or six months."
"This is the height of a brazen approach toward us, and we will not submit to such humiliation," Araghchi told Iran's state TV. "Iran will not accept the humiliating pressure over snapback."
The fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile of 400 kg (882 pounds) remains under investigation, while Tehran claims it is trapped under rubble after US attacks on three nuclear sites in June.
After triggering the so-called snapback mechanism on August 28, the Europeans asked Iran to address concerns over the highly enriched uranium stockpile, cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, and engage in talks with the United States.
Iran accuses US of swaying Europeans
While talks with European leaders had produced some convergence, Washington’s stance remained irreconcilable, Pezeshkian said upon arrival in Tehran after a visit to New York.
"On the snapback mechanism, we apparently reached an agreement with Europe, but when they spoke with the United States, they came up with various excuses."
Barbara Slavin, a longtime Iran analyst, wrote in a post on X that Pezeshkian told a private meeting France had floated a similar idea, proposing Iran hand over its enriched uranium in return for just one month’s extension.
The so-called snapback mechanism stems from UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It allows any participant to reimpose sanctions if Iran is judged in “significant non-performance.”
The United States, Britain, France and Germany argue that Iran’s growing uranium stockpile and failure to resolve International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerns meet that threshold.
A May 2025 IAEA safeguards report concluded Iran had concealed activities, sanitized sites, and retained undeclared nuclear materials, leading to its referral to the Security Council. The vote has now restored suspended measures.
On September 23, Iran's Supreme Leader reiterated that Tehran does not need and seek to develop nuclear weapons, so it enriches uranium to up to 60% purity, unlike nuclear-armed countries that enrich it up to 90% purity.
