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| Iran warned not to escalate after UK, Germany and France impose sanctions | Iran warned not to escalate after UK, Germany and France impose sanctions |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper issued the statement on Iran alongside her French and German counterparts | UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper issued the statement on Iran alongside her French and German counterparts |
| The UK, France and Germany have called on Iran not to escalate tensions and to instead pursue negotiations after UN sanctions were reinstated on Saturday. | |
| The three countries said they had no choice but to bring back the sweeping measures against Tehran "as a last resort" over its "continued nuclear escalation" and lack of co-operation. | |
| "We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action," they said in a joint statement, adding: "The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy." | "We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action," they said in a joint statement, adding: "The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy." |
| Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted last week that the country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons, and condemned the reimposing of international sanctions as "unfair, unjust, and illegal". | |
| The United Nations' sweeping economic and military sanctions were reimposed on Iran at 00:00 GMT on Saturday - a decade after they were lifted in a landmark international deal over its nuclear programme. | The United Nations' sweeping economic and military sanctions were reimposed on Iran at 00:00 GMT on Saturday - a decade after they were lifted in a landmark international deal over its nuclear programme. |
| Iran stepped up its banned nuclear activity after the US quit the deal in 2016. Donald Trump pulled the US out in his first term as president, criticising the agreement - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama as flawed. | |
| Talks between the three countries and Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week failed to produce a deal which would have delayed the sanctions being reimposed. | Talks between the three countries and Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week failed to produce a deal which would have delayed the sanctions being reimposed. |
| A satellite image shows Fordo, one of the nuclear sites bombed by the US | |
| In a joint statement early on Sunday, the foreign ministers of the three European countries, known as the E3, said: "Given that Iran repeatedly breached these commitments, the E3 had no choice but to trigger the snapback procedure, at the end of which those resolutions were brought back into force." | In a joint statement early on Sunday, the foreign ministers of the three European countries, known as the E3, said: "Given that Iran repeatedly breached these commitments, the E3 had no choice but to trigger the snapback procedure, at the end of which those resolutions were brought back into force." |
| In the meantime, they said they would "continue to pursue diplomatic routes and negotiations". | In the meantime, they said they would "continue to pursue diplomatic routes and negotiations". |
| They cited Iran's failure to "take the necessary actions to address our concerns, nor to meet our asks on extension, despite extensive dialogue". | They cited Iran's failure to "take the necessary actions to address our concerns, nor to meet our asks on extension, despite extensive dialogue". |
| Specifically, they mentioned Tehran's refusal to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. | |
| "Iran has not authorised IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran's nuclear sites, nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium," the statement read. | "Iran has not authorised IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran's nuclear sites, nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium," the statement read. |
| Iran suspended IAEA inspections after Israel and the US bombed several of its nuclear sites and military bases in June. | |
| Under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally obliged to allow inspections of its nuclear sites, and on Friday the IAEA confirmed that they had resumed. | |
| But while Iran has been in talks with the IAEA to find a way forward, it has also warned that a return of sanctions would put that in jeopardy. | |
| Pezeshkian has walked back from his earlier threats of Iran quitting the Non-Proliferation Treaty altogether. | |
| However, speaking to reporters on Friday, he said Tehran would need reassurances that its nuclear facilities would not be attacked by Israel in order to normalise its nuclear enrichment programme. | |
| He also rejected a US demand to hand over all of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium in return for a three-month exemption from sanctions, saying: "Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?" | He also rejected a US demand to hand over all of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium in return for a three-month exemption from sanctions, saying: "Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?" |
| Iran said on Saturday that it was recalling its ambassadors to the UK, France and Germany for consultations. |