E3 Offers Iran Six-Month Delay on UN Sanctions Amid Nuclear Tensions
UNITED NATIONS – The United Kingdom, France, and Germany – collectively known as the E3 – have proposed delaying the reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Iran for up to six months, calling on Tehran to cooperate on its nuclear program.
The statement came ahead of a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting, a day after the E3 triggered a 30-day process to snap back sanctions over Iran’s disputed nuclear activities.
The offer hinges on Iran allowing U.N. nuclear inspectors full access, addressing concerns over its stockpile of enriched uranium, and engaging in talks with the United States.
“Our requests were fair and realistic,” said Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward, reading the joint statement alongside her French and German counterparts. “However, as of today, Iran has shown no indication that it is serious about meeting them.”
Woodward urged Tehran to reconsider, saying the E3 hopes for an agreement that could pave the way for a long-term diplomatic solution.
Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani dismissed the proposal as “full of unrealistic preconditions.” He argued that the E3’s demands should be the result of negotiations, not the starting point.
“They are asking for outcomes that cannot be met upfront,” Iravani said, adding that the E3 should support “a short, unconditional technical extension of Resolution 2231,” the 2015 nuclear deal that eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Russia and China, strategic allies of Iran, have drafted a resolution to extend the 2015 deal for six months and push all parties to return to negotiations immediately. The two countries have removed controversial language from their original draft that would have prevented the E3 from reimposing sanctions, but they have not yet formally requested a vote.
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