Iran Warns E3 It May Exit Nuclear Treaty if Sanctions Are Reinstated

Iran has informed European powers that it may withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if UN sanctions are reimposed, according to Western diplomats who spoke to Iran International after last week’s talks in Istanbul.

The message was conveyed during a closed-door meeting last week between Iranian officials and representatives from France, Germany and Britain, known collectively as the E3. The session marked the first formal nuclear discussions since last month’s Israeli and US strikes on Iranian territory, The Caspian Post reports citing Iranian media.

According to one diplomat present at the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi said any withdrawal from the treaty should not be interpreted as a step toward building nuclear weapons.

Officials expect sanctions to return

A separate source inside President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government told Iran International that senior Iranian officials have concluded that snapback sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are likely and that Tehran must be ready to respond.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, the snapback mechanism allows a participant to reimpose UN sanctions if Iran is found to be in serious non-compliance. France has recently warned that it will push for global embargoes unless a broader agreement is reached by late August.

Tehran rejects European authority on sanctions

Iran has rejected the legitimacy of any attempt by the E3 to invoke the snapback clause. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said earlier this week that Britain, France and Germany have no legal standing to trigger the measure and had “marginalized themselves” through their support for Israel and the United States during recent military action.

Baghaei also said Tehran remains opposed to extending Resolution 2231 beyond its scheduled expiration in October.

Talks confined to nuclear file, Iran says

Iranian officials insist that the Istanbul talks were limited to nuclear and sanctions-related issues. Baghaei said no other topics were raised and warned that any attempt to expand the agenda would not be accepted.

“These talks have a clear and limited focus: the lifting of sanctions and matters related to the nuclear program,” he said during his weekly press briefing.