Iran Will Cancel Agreement With The IAEA, If The West Implements UN Sanctions Again

JAKARTA - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would cancel an agreement allowing UN watchdog IAEA to examine its nuclear sites if Western countries reimpose UN sanctions.

A series of UN sanctions against Iran will be reinstated at 00.00 GMT on Saturday, September 27, after Britain, France, and Germany accused Tehran of violating a 2015 agreement with major countries aimed at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is working to rebuild cooperation with Tehran and continue to inspect its nuclear facilities after Israel and the United States bombed the sites in June.

But in a post on Telegram, Iran's Foreign Minister said the deal signed in Egypt this month would remain in effect as long as no hostile action was taken against Iran, including the restoration of the United Nations Security Council (UN) resolution that had been canceled.

"If not, the Islamic Republic of Iran will consider its practical commitment to end," he said.

The Security Council will vote on Friday over a resolution proposed by Russia and China to delay the re-imposition of sanctions under the so-called "shuffleback mechanism" for six months, but diplomats say the resolution will most likely not be passed.

The mechanism, listed in the 2231 Security Council Resolution, allows any party in a 2015 agreement with the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to unilaterally restore UN sanctions suspended by the agreement.

Tehran has long denounced the provision as a political weapon that weakens diplomacy.