Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an op-ed published by The Guardian on Sunday that Iran was ready to pursue a nuclear deal that would limit its uranium enrichment and increase oversight of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The purpose of the op-ed was to tell the UK, France, and Germany to reverse course after the three countries, known as the E3, took action to trigger the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that will re-impose UN Security Council sanctions.
“The three countries want the world to forget that it was the US, and not Iran, that unilaterally ended participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name of the deal,” Araghchi wrote.
Araghchi criticized the E3 for backing US demands for zero uranium enrichment and supporting the US-Israeli war on Iran. “It does not make any sense for the E3 to claim participation in a deal pillared on uranium enrichment in Iran while demanding that Iran must disavow those very capabilities,” he said.
“Openly cheerleading illegal military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities protected by international law – as Germany’s chancellor has done – does not constitute ‘participation.’ While this lawless behaviour is fueling calls for action to ensure ‘never again,’ Iran remains open to diplomacy. It is ready to forge a realistic and lasting bargain that entails ironclad oversight and curbs on enrichment in exchange for the termination of sanctions,” Araghchi added.
The Iranian diplomat warned that the failure to reach a deal “may have consequences destructive for the region and beyond on a whole new level” and made clear that Iran was ready to face another Israeli attack.
“Israel may be pitching itself as capable of conducting war on behalf of the West. But as in June, the truth is that the powerful armed forces of Iran are ready and able to once again pummel Israel into running to ‘daddy’ to be bailed out,” Araghchi wrote. “The failed Israeli gambit this summer cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, robbed the United States of vital hardware that is now missing from its inventories, and projected Washington as a reckless actor dragged into a rogue regime’s wars of choice.”
Some Iranian officials want Tehran to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in response to the snapback sanctions, a step that could be used as a pretext for Israel to launch another war, even though Israel is not a signatory to the NPT. Unlike Iran, Israel actually has a secret nuclear weapons program and stockpile of nuclear warheads that is not officially acknowledged by Israel or the US.
