Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused the United States of obstructing efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, just hours before United Nations sanctions lifted under the agreement were set to be reimposed.
Speaking at Tehran airport after returning from the UN General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian said France, Britain, and Germany – the three countries that triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism – had been informed of Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The United States always attempts to prevent the achievement of an agreement by raising fresh pretexts,” Pezeshkian said. “The reality is that the United States cannot tolerate a strong Iran and wants to weaken our country.”
Last month, the European trio invoked the snapback clause of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reinstating UN sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Ahead of the measures taking effect, Iran recalled its ambassadors to Paris, London and Berlin. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the decision as “illegal, void, and having no standing,” blaming the current crisis on “U.S. betrayal and Europe’s inaction.”
“The U.S. betrayed diplomacy. The Europeans buried it,” Araghchi said.
The JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and six major powers, including the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain, and Germany. The deal has been in jeopardy since Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, which prompted Tehran to gradually roll back its compliance with the agreement.
