Britain, France, Germany to “Continue Nuclear Negotiations”; South Korea Says “Limited Impact on Industry”
Masoud Pazeikian, the President of Iran, delivered a speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on the 24th (local time), where he stated that Iran has never developed nuclear weapons and has no intention to do so in the future.
The UN Security Council’s sanctions against Iran have been reinstated. These sanctions, initially lifted in January 2016 following the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), have been reimposed after nearly a decade.
According to reports from Reuters and AFP, the UN’s sanctions against Iran took effect at 8 PM (local time in New York) on the 27th, equivalent to 9 AM on the 28th in South Korea. The renewed sanctions include the cessation of Iran’s enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy water-related activities, a ban on the transfer and activities related to Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles by UN member states, and an arms trade embargo. Individuals subject to these sanctions may face travel bans and asset freezes.
The three European signatories of the Iran nuclear agreement—Britain, France, and Germany—activated the UN “snapback” mechanism on the 28th of last month, citing Iran’s violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. The 30-day waiting period for this measure ended, leading to the reimposition of the sanctions.
These three countries claimed that Iran violated nuclear agreement rules by increasing its uranium stockpile to over 40 times the agreed limit. According to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June, Iran has accumulated 440.9 kg of 60% enriched uranium, which could potentially yield approximately ten nuclear warheads.
Masoud Pazeikian attributed the situation to the United States. Ahead of the sanctions’ reinstatement, he mentioned reaching an agreement with European parties to cancel the snapback mechanism, but claimed that the U.S. demanded the transfer of all enriched uranium within three months. He stated that, in choosing sanctions over what he described as an American “irrational demand,” Iran aimed for a logical resolution.
Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S. have expressed intentions to continue nuclear negotiations with Iran and urged Iran to respond positively. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized in a statement that President Donald Trump had kept the “door to diplomacy” open, urging Iran to engage in direct dialogue.
China and Russia attempted to prevent the reinstatement of sanctions by proposing a resolution to extend the termination of sanctions against Iran for six months, but this was defeated in a UN Security Council vote the previous day.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy stated on the 28th that due to the U.S. sanctions against Iran and the overall minimal trade volume between South Korea and Iran, the reinstatement of sanctions is expected to have a limited impact on South Korean industries.