DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s parliament is ready to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should international sanctions be reimposed by the United Nations, Iranian lawmaker Manouchehr Mottaki told Defa Press on Wednesday.
This comment comes after European countries expressed their will to reimpose international sanctions on Iran to the UN, which they say they can do by invoking the UN snapback mechanism prior to its expiration in October.
On Tuesday, France, Germany and Britain have told the United Nations they are ready to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations with the international community over its nuclear programme, the Financial Times reported.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the UN to raise the possibility of “snapback” sanctions unless Iran takes action, the report said, citing a letter seen by the newspaper.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers said in the letter, according to the report.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The British, French and German governments did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the United States withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
The E3’s warning comes after “serious, frank and detailed” talks with Iran in Istanbul last month, the first face-to-face meeting since Israeli and US strikes on the country’s nuclear sites in June.
During its 12-day war with Israel in June, Tehran said its lawmakers were preparing a bill that could push it towards exiting the treaty, ratified by Tehran in 1970. The treaty guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forego atomic weapons and cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
Earlier, Iran’s first Vice President Mohammadreza Aref said Tehran could hold direct nuclear talks with the United States if conditions are suitable, state media reported.
But he said US demands for Tehran to drop uranium enrichment entirely were “a joke”.
A sixth round of talks between Tehran and Washington was suspended following Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Both powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran has rejected.
“Iran is ready for negotiations under equal conditions in order to safeguard its interests … The Islamic Republic’s stance is in the direction that people want and, should there be suitable conditions, we are even ready for direct talks,” Aref said.
Previous rounds of negotiations, which started in April, were indirect, mediated by Oman. Washington says uranium enrichment in Iran constitutes a pathway to developing nuclear weapons and should be dropped.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made a controversial statement in favour of resuming negotiations with the US regardless of current levels of distrust.
“You don’t want to talk? Well then, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to war? … Going to talks does not mean we intend to surrender,” he said, adding that such issues should not be “approached emotionally”.
A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Aziz Ghazanfari, reacting to Pezeshkian’s comments on Monday, said foreign policy requires discretion, and careless statements by authorities can have serious consequences for the country.
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