Iran suspends IAEA cooperation as automatic sanctions loom
Iran announced it will suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (‘IAEA’) as UN sanctions are set to automatically take effect within days, escalating a nuclear standoff that began after military strikes on Iranian facilities in June.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, condemned what it called ‘ill-considered actions’ by Britain, France and Germany, which triggered the so-called ‘snapback’ sanctions mechanism at the UN under the 2015 nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (‘JCPOA’).
‘Despite the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the proposals presented to resolve the issue, the actions of European countries will effectively suspend the path of cooperation with the Agency,’ the council said in a statement.
The announcement follows a UN Security Council vote that failed to adopt a resolution preventing sanctions from automatically taking effect. The vote revealed deep divisions, with only four countries supporting continued sanctions relief for Iran, while nine voted against and two abstained.
Under the snapback mechanism in the JCPOA, comprehensive UN sanctions will automatically return unless the Security Council acts to prevent it – which it has failed to do.
The European powers triggered the 30-day automatic process on 28 August after Iran failed to meet their deadline for resuming full cooperation with nuclear inspectors and reopening talks with the United States.
The current crisis stems from coordinated US and Israeli military strikes in June that targeted key Iranian nuclear facilities. The attacks left IAEA inspectors without access to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.
Tehran has enriched uranium to 60% purity – approaching the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material – and possesses over 400 kg of such enriched uranium according to IAEA assessments.
The automatic sanctions restoration will include an arms embargo, bans on uranium enrichment and ballistic missile activities, plus asset freezes and travel restrictions on Iranian individuals and entities.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that a recent agreement reached with the IAEA in Cairo for resuming inspections ‘will be completely stopped’ without a diplomatic breakthrough.
Tehran maintains European states failed to deliver promised economic benefits under the JCPOA and aligned themselves with US sanctions rather than honouring the agreement. Iranian officials have warned that triggering snapback could prompt Iran’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Russia and China have supported Iran’s position, with both countries rejecting the European bid to trigger automatic sanctions restoration.
President Pezeshkian said Saturday that Iran will ‘overcome obstacles’ and can withstand any restored sanctions, emphasising that ‘ill-wishers of this territory cannot block our way’.
‘We have never bowed and will never bow to excessive demands because we have the power to bring about change,’ he stated, according to Iranian media reports.
Referring to recent military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Pezeshkian said that while Iran’s adversaries sought to destroy those installations, Iranian specialists and scientists ‘will rebuild’ them.
The nuclear agreement was scheduled to reach ‘termination day’ on 18 October 2025, when the UN Security Council would end consideration of Iran’s nuclear file. The snapback activation effectively prevents this timeline and ensures that sanctions continue.
https://en.irna.ir/news/85944442/Supreme-National-Security-Council-Iran-will-suspend-cooperation
