Vienna (AP) – France, the UK and Germany say ” Snapback mechanism “It automatically re-equipped with all UN sanctions Iran Iran said it had deliberately set out in 2015, and is now pursuing a nuclear programme Nuclear trade It lifted them up.
European countries known as E3 provided Iran with snapback delays July lecture In exchange for three Iranian terms: negotiations with the United States over a nuclear programme have resumed, with UN nuclear inspectors granting access to its nuclear site, accounting for more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, according to the UN Watchdog.
Tehran, which now enriches uranium, close to weapons-grade levels, has rejected the proposal.
The US and Iran tried to reach a new nuclear deal earlier this year. Those lectures It has not resumed since the 12th Israeli fire Iran’s nuclear and military facilities and the US Gunfire June 22nd.
How Snapback works
Under reaching a comprehensive plan of action between the world power and Iran in 2015, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to the levels required for private nuclear power generation in exchange for economic sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency was tasked with oversight of Iran’s nuclear program.
The purpose of the snapback mechanism is to promptly reimpose all prior sanctions without being rejected by members of the UN Security Council, including permanent residents Russia and China.
The process begins when one or more nuclear deal participants notify the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council president of the Iranian “significant defects in its commitment.”
It raises a 30-day window where new resolutions need to be adopted to continue sanctions relief. Because that’s unlikely, all UN sanctions automatically “snapback” because the US, UK and France reject such resolutions. At this stage, no further votes are required, and Security Council members cannot block reassessment.
The snapback mechanism expires in October
Europeans agreed to the US earlier this year to set an August deadline to trigger a snapback mechanism if they fail to reach an agreement with Iran.
The United States itself cannot activate snapbacks as US President Donald Trump withdraws the US from nuclear deals in 2018.
Two factors promote approaching deadlines.
First, the power to automatically snap sanctions expires on October 18th. Sanctions efforts could then face veto powers from China and Russia, which have provided some support to Iran in the past.
Second, Europeans want to spark a snapback mechanism under the South Korean Security Council presidency in September before Russia takes over in October. While Russia cannot refuse to re-challenge sanctions under the mechanism, diplomats say Moscow can use procedural delay tactics until the nuclear deal expires.
E3 location
European countries claim that Iran “deliberately and publicly left” from its nuclear deal commitment.
In May, the IAEA said Iran had collected 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium, which was concentrated up to 60% purity. According to the IAEA Yard Stick, if it is concentrated to 90%, it would be enough to make nine nuclear weapons, but weapons require other expertise, such as explosive devices.
The IAEA also estimated that as of May 17, the overall stockpile of Iran’s enriched uranium stood at 9,247.6 kilograms (20,387.4 pounds).
The amount is well above the limits set by nuclear deals, with Iran being allowed to enrich uranium by up to 3.67% and maintain a stockpile of 300 kilograms of uranium.
Furthermore, in 2022, Iran Most surveillance equipment has been removedIncludes IAEA cameras. A year later, Iran banned some The most experienced inspector of the agency.
Iran’s position
Iran has long argued that its nuclear programme serves only peaceful purposes. Tehran also argues that Washington has the right to waive the limits of nuclear deals as it withdrew its contract in 2018 and reimposed its own sanctions.
Before 2019, when Iran gradually began to break trading restrictions, the IAEA confirmed that Tehran had adhered to all its commitments.
Iran claims there is no legal basis for Europeans to reimpose UN sanctions via snapback, and that the country failed to support the agreement after the US exit.
Tehran also threatened to withdraw from the global treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons if a snapback was caused. By ratifying the NPT in 1970, Iran promised not to develop nuclear weapons.
More options
When a snapback mechanism is triggered, there is a small possibility of a diplomatic solution, says Aribaez, Iran project director for International Crisis Group.
He said that if West and Iran reach a diplomatic agreement within the 30-day window, a resolution could be introduced to push back the mechanism’s expiration date on October 18th.
“The timing is in a way auspicious as it overlaps with the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly.
However, he added that unless Washington and Tehran can break the new nuclear deal, the snapback issue is likely to resurface.
___
The Associated Press is Carnegie Corporation in New York and Autorider Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Follow AP coverage: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nucleul-landscape/
