UNSC decides not to lift sanctions on Iran

The United Nations Security Council voted to reimpose deep economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme after Britain, France and Germany called for action against Tehran.

The three European nations are signatories to a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The trio alleged that Iran has broken its promises under the treaty.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday he had put forward a "fair and balanced" proposal to European powers to prevent the return of sanctions.

"We urge (Iran) to act now," said British ambassador Barbara Woodward after casting a vote against a resolution that would have extended the current suspension of the sanctions.

She left the door open for diplomacy at the UN General Assembly next week, when heads of state and government will gather in New York.

Ahead of the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an Israeli television interview that he expected international sanctions to be reinstated by the end of the month.

But the French ambassador to the UN said that the option of a negotiated settlement was still on the table.

In a letter to the UN in mid-August, the "European Three" slammed Iran as having breached several commitments under the JCPOA, including building up a uranium stock to more than 40 times the level permitted under the deal.

2015 deal in tatters

The hard-won 2015 deal has been left in tatters since the United States walked away from it in 2018, during Donald Trump's first presidency, and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Western powers and Israel have long accused Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Iran denies.

Following the US withdrawal, Tehran gradually broke away from its commitments under the agreement and began stepping up its nuclear activities, with tensions high since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.

The war also derailed Tehran's nuclear negotiations with the United States and prompted Iran to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with inspectors of the Vienna-based UN body leaving the Middle Eastern country shortly after.

Iran late Thursday withdrew a draft resolution at the IAEA that called for a ban on attacks against nuclear facilities after its war with Israel, citing US pressure. In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, starting the war that saw Israeli and also US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if the snapback is triggered.

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Source: TRT