United Nations — Iran and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to diplomacy at a contentious UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, but the gap between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic over the nuclear deal remains wide and deep.
The sixth round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran was scheduled to be held shortly after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran In June, the United States joined Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear sites. The talks were canceled, and in September, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected any direct nuclear negotiations with the United States.
But Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, told the Security Council that “Iran remains fully committed to principled diplomacy and real negotiations.” He said it was now up to France, Britain and the United States “to reverse course and take concrete and credible steps to restore confidence.”
He said Iran remains committed to the basic principles of the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement concluded between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council, in addition to Germany.
In a rare public exchange between diplomats from the two countries, US mission advisor Morgan Ortagus, a Trump ally and former State Department spokesman, said, “The United States remains prepared to hold formal talks with Iran but only if Tehran is prepared to engage in a direct and meaningful dialogue.”
Ortagus said that Trump extended a “diplomatic hand” to Iran during his administration.
“But instead of extending that hand of diplomacy, you continue to hold your hand in the fire,” she said, looking directly at Iravani. “Stay away from the fire, sir, and take President Trump’s diplomatic hand, as it is extended to you.”
But she stressed that the Trump administration was clear that there could be no enrichment of nuclear materials inside Iran, which is a major point of contention.
Irvani said that the United States’ insistence on not enriching at all contradicts Iran’s rights under the 2015 agreement and shows that the United States is not seeking fair negotiations. He said that if France and Britain continued to side with the United States, “diplomacy would be effectively destroyed.”
“Iran will not bow to any pressure or intimidation,” Irvani said.
In September, the three Western signatories to the agreement – Britain, France and Germany – sparked a crisis “Snapback” mechanism to re-impose sanctions It was lifted due to Iran’s failure to comply with the terms of the agreement.
As tensions between Tehran and Washington increased, Iran accelerated its uranium production to the point of being close to weapons-grade. International Atomic Energy Agency of the United NationsThe Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that Iran possesses more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% – a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
France’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Jay Dharmadhikari, defended the “re-imposition” of UN sanctions, saying that since 2019, Iran had been in “increasingly blatant violation” of all restrictions designed to ensure its nuclear program remains peaceful. But he said that the re-imposition of sanctions does not mean the end of efforts to find a diplomatic solution.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia responded, telling the French envoy: “You have failed miserably in your so-called diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement on the nuclear issue with Iran, and you know it.”