Europe and Iran fail to bridge gap on nuclear safeguards

Talks between Iran and European nations on Iran's nuclear program stall, with UN sanctions set to be reimposed. Tehran refuses concessions, despite Western demands for concrete action, and vows retaliation. Tehran’s refusal to cooperate with international inspectors and engage with the United States appears poised to trigger the snapback of United Nations sanctions, with Western diplomats indicating on Wednesday that the reimposition is the most likely scenario, Reuters reported.

Following a tense phone call on Wednesday, little progress was made between Iranian and European ministers to prevent the reimposition of international sanctions against Tehran. The E3 - Britain, France, and Germany - initiated a 30-day process at the end of August to trigger the "snapback mechanism," which would restore UN sanctions against the Iranian regime.

Wednesday’s call involved the E3 foreign ministers, the European Union foreign policy chief, and their Iranian counterpart. The dialogue followed a recent agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resume cooperation, including in-principle inspections of nuclear sites.

However, Western diplomats have described this accord as insufficient, lacking a clear timeframe and leaving the door open for Iran to continue its policy of evasion and stonewalling. A primary point of contention is the status of Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, which have been unaccounted for since Israel and the United States conducted airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June. (Read More)