Britain Threatens Iran Sanctions Related To Nuclear Program

JAKARTA - Britain warned it was running out of time to reach a diplomatic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, while talks with European and US partners are still ongoing.

British Foreign Minister David Lemmy said Britain remains committed to diplomacy, but is ready to impose sanctions if no progress is made.

In a post on social media X, Lemmy said he had spoken by telephone with Iran's Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, as well as European partners, to reaffirm concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

"We are committed to diplomacy, but the time is short. We have offered diplomatic solutions to Iran with an extension of sanctions relief. Without a sustainable and verifiable agreement, this will end," he said as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Saturday, August 23.

Britain, France, and Germany in the 2015 nuclear deal and the European Union's Head of Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas, also made phone calls with Araghchi earlier this week.

The discussion focused on a mechanism called aback, which would allow UN sanctions against Tehran to be reinstated if deemed to have violated the deal.

According to Iran's official news agency, IRNA, the call also discussed Tehran's position on the sanctions mechanism and responsibility of European countries on this matter.

AragCHI argues European powers have failed to fulfill their commitments under the 2015 agreement, and therefore they have no legal and moral basis for activating the mechanism.

Iran and six countries of the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany signed an important deal in July 2015. The deal offers relief of sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities.

But in 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement under President Donald Trump and again imposed sanctions on Tehran.

A year later, Iran began to reduce its commitment, including increasing uranium enrichment, after accusing European countries of failing to mitigate the impact of US action.

European countries known as E3, have since threatened to activate a backup mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions, unless Iran complies with an agreement. The deadline for doing so falls on October 18.

Last month, deputy foreign ministers from Iran, Britain, France, and Germany met in Istanbul and agreed to continue talks.

Tehran has warned that if UN sanctions are reinstated, it may reconsider its membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which it has followed since 1970.