Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned that any move by Britain, France and Germany (the E3 countries) to reinstate UN sanctions would create “new conditions” that would nullify its recent agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed in Cairo earlier in September. He was speaking upon arrival in New York at the head of a delegation for the 80th annual session of the UN General Assembly.
He was referring to the fact that in August the E3 had triggered a snapback mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which will re-impose UN sanctions against Iran on 28 September unless the nine-member Security Council agrees to further extend sanctions relief.
The sanctions had been lifted in 2015 when Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), endorsed by Resolution 2231, with the P5+1 group of countries (the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany). Under the JCPOA, Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear development programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. The 10-year JCPOA is due to expire, meaning Iran would no longer be bound by it. The E3 action, which is intended to prevent this, is being countered by Russia and China.
Attempts to stop the snapback recently failed when the 15-member Security Council failed to pass a resolution put forth by South Korea that would have avoided the reimposition of UN sanctions. The resolution received support from only four countries – China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria, while two members abstained.
Araqchi told reporters: “In the press conference following the [Cairo] agreement with the IAEA, I emphasised that if the snapback is ultimately implemented, the agreement will also lose its validity.” He added that he will be meeting with most of his European counterparts in New York. “It is time for them to choose between cooperation and confrontation. We hope for a diplomatic solution, but rest assured, if that fails, Iran is prepared to take necessary measures.”
During the Cairo meeting Araqchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reached an agreement on practical modalities to resume cooperation. It came after the Iranian Parliament in July unanimously passed legislation requiring the administration to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA following the Israeli-US aggression, which targeted three of the country’s nuclear sites in a clear violation of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Araqchi said Iran will answer any “destructive” move by the E3. “They have tested the Islamic Republic of Iran at various times and know that we do not respond with a language of pressure and threats. Rather, we will respond to a language of respect. If there is a solution, it is only a diplomatic solution,” he said.
Responding the UN Security Council’s continued support for snapback sanctions, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), following a meeting chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, also said Iran will suspend cooperation with the IAEA. In a statement, Iran’s top security body noted:
“Despite the Foreign Ministry’s cooperation with the Agency and the proposals presented to settle the issue, the actions of European countries have effectively suspended the path of cooperation with the Agency.” The SNSC tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with continuing its consultations within the framework of the SNSC decisions to safeguard the national interests. It added that Iran’s foreign policy under the current circumstances will be based on cooperation to establish peace and stability in the region. The SNSC was formally put in charge of overseeing cooperation with the IAEA in July.
President Pezeshkian said Tehran can overcome any re-imposition of sanctions and will never surrender to excessive demands. “We should believe that we can overcome obstacles and that the ill-wishers of this territory cannot block our way. It is totally impossible to stop those who possess the will, determination, and ability to advance. We have never bowed and will never bow to excessive demands because we have the power to bring about change,” he added. “They can strike our Natanz and Fordow, but they are unaware that it is humans who built and will rebuild Natanz and things more important than Natanz,” Pezeshkian said, referring to the US and Israeli attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on June 22.
Earlier, during the IAEA 69th General Conference in Vienna, Iran had withdrawn its draft resolution banning strikes on nuclear sites is face of US pressure. The measure, co-sponsored with China, Russia, and other countries, was scheduled for a vote but was withdrawn at the last minute.
Western diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP, that the US had been lobbying behind the scenes to block the resolution. Washington warned that its adoption could lead to cuts in IAEA funding, especially if it further limited Israel’s rights within the agency. IAEA had suspended technical assistance to Israel in 1981 after it bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq.
Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Reza Najafi, said that, “guided by the spirit of goodwill and constructive engagement, and at the request of several member states,” the resolution’s consideration would be deferred until next year’s conference.
Iran’s draft resolution included a paragraph that condemned the “deliberate and unlawful attacks carried out in June 2025 against nuclear sites and facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” calling them a “clear violation of international law.” It also reiterated that all states must refrain from attacking or threatening peaceful nuclear facilities.
Najafi said that Iran and the other co-sponsors, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Belarus, and Zimbabwe, did not intend to create divisions among member states. He added, “On matters of such importance and sensitivity, it is imperative that the general conference conveys a unified and unambiguous message.”
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, addressing the opening plenary session of the General Conference, said he expected IAEA member states to “take appropriate measures in response to these unlawful attacks on nuclear facilities”. He said the “recent threats made by the United States in this regard, as well as the exertion of political pressure on countries and the instrumental use of the Agency in various forms, including through influence on its budget, are matters of serious concern.”
Howard Solomon, the US charge d’affaires in Vienna, called the resolution “deeply inaccurate,” saying it “would have been overwhelmingly defeated” if put to a vote. He defended the US strikes in June, citing the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme and emphasising that the US did not act lightly.
Al Mayadeen also reported that the US administration had threatened to halt funding for the agency and even considered withdrawal if the resolution were adopted. Najafi confirmed this. “A considerable number of IAEA member states, in separate contacts with Iran and other sponsors of the draft resolution, have stated that they are under intense pressure and threats from the United States not to vote in favour of the submitted resolution,” he said. “According to the representatives of these countries, the United States has approached each country separately and threatened them to cast a negative vote or abstain from voting on Iran’s resolution. A number of these countries have declared that an ‘abstention’ on this resolution does not reflect their true position, and therefore they have strongly requested Iran, in consultation with the other co-sponsors of the resolution, to defer action on the resolution to next year’s conference.”
Meanwhile, diplomatic activity continues on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York where the Iranian delegation led by Araqchi is holding talks with the E3 and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, hoping to find a compromise that will stop the snapback sanction. Araqchi stressed that Iran’s choice is to achieve a peaceful solution, and said: “We proved this in practice and when the JCPOA agreement was reached. We remained committed to the JCPOA until the Americans withdrew from it [in 2018].”
He added: “In consultations with the three European countries and in messages we have with the American side, both directly and indirectly, we emphasised that we are ready to reach a diplomatic solution … but a solution that meets the interests of the Iranian people and takes into account our security concerns and concerns.”
Stating that Iran will resist all pressures, he stressed: “We think that the good of the region, the good of the non-proliferation regime, and international law all depend on finding a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and snapback mechanism.”
