The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday denied an exclusive Jerusalem Post report that cited officials as saying that Iran was deliberately stalling nuclear negotiations to avoid sanctions.
“We have never sought to waste time in negotiations with the United States,” Araghchi said, adding, “The time and place for the next round of negotiations with the United States have not yet been determined.”
The spokesperson also said that Iran will not accept temporarily suspending uranium enrichment to secure a nuclear deal with US.
The report in question said that senior officials from the E3 countries — the United Kingdom, Germany, and France — warned the Trump administration that Iran is deliberately stalling negotiations over a new nuclear agreement to hinder the ability to impose sanctions if no agreement is reached. The report cited several sources that were familiar with the matter.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, the member states have the authority to impose broad United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran through a mechanism known as the snapback, in response to major violations of Iran’s nuclear commitments.
This option will no longer be available after October, the “sunset date”. The European signatories have made it clear to Iran that if a new and “meaningful” nuclear deal is not reached by August, they will trigger this mechanism, which would result in extensive sanctions on Iran.
“The Europeans told the United States that there must be a clear timeline for the negotiations; otherwise, the Iranians will deliberately stall to create a US-Europe confrontation in an effort to block the use of the sanctions mechanism,” several sources told the Post.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that “if the Europeans activate the snapback mechanism established under the nuclear deal, Iran will respond forcefully.”
The disagreement lies in uranium enrichment
The core disagreement between the sides revolves around uranium enrichment. While the Trump administration has made it clear that it will not allow Iran to enrich uranium under a new agreement, Iran insists that it has the right to enrich uranium for its civilian nuclear energy program.
A senior US official told the Post after Friday’s talks in Oman between Trump’s envoy and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that some progress had been made, but there is still work to be done. “The talks were constructive, and both sides agreed to meet again soon,” the official said.
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