No plan for negotiations, Iran says after backtracking on inspection deal with IAEA

Tehran is focused on 'reviewing the impacts and consequences' of snapback sanctions, says Foreign Ministry

Iranians in Tehran. The return of sanctions could hit the country's economy hard. EPA

Iran has no immediate plans to resume nuclear talks with European nations after Tehran was hit with snapback sanctions last month, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday.

He explained at a media briefing that Tehran's current focus is on “reviewing the impacts and consequences of the actions taken by the three European countries [the UK, France and Germany]” that activated the snapback mechanism against Iran at the UN.

Mr Baghaei said “diplomacy, in its current form with them, is unproductive” and that the countries made the move “to appease the US”.

UN sanctions were reimposed against Iran in September over what western powers say is Tehran's failure to adhere to a 2015 deal regulating the country's nuclear energy programme. The aim of the deal was to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb by offering it incentives. But Iran flouted the terms it had agreed to after US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement in 2018.

Britain, France and Germany launched the process at the UN in August to reinstate the sanctions, saying Tehran was in breach of its commitments. Known as the snapback mechanism, the procedure has led to the reintroduction of restrictions that could deal a blow to an already struggling Iranian economy.

Iran repeatedly warned that a return of sanctions would lead to a suspension of co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog is “no longer relevant”.

“The Cairo agreement is no longer relevant for our co-operation with the IAEA,” Mr Araghchi added.

Last month, Iran and the IAEA signed an agreement on resuming inspections of Tehran’s nuclear programme and sites, including those attacked by the US and Israel in June. The agreement was reached after talks between Mr Araghchi and IAEA director general Rafael Grossi at a meeting hosted by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo. The meeting laid the groundwork for an eventual return of monitors to Tehran – subject to additional negotiations.

Signing the agreement at the time “was necessary due to changes in the field and security threats, including attacks on nuclear facilities”, Mr Araghchi said.

The minister said the role of the E3 in coming nuclear talks had been “diminished” as a result of the sanctions.

“The three European countries thought they could achieve results through the snapback mechanism, but that tool was ineffective and only made diplomacy more complicated," Mr Araghchi said. "The three European countries have certainly diminished their role and lost their justification for negotiations. In any future talks, they will play a much smaller part.”