Reports emerged yesterday that as a result of the UN Security Council vote on Sept. 18 to “snapback” UN sanctions, Iran is suspending its cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, called the action by the three European nations, known as the E3, “ill-considered,” reported Al Jazeera. It said the move undermined months of engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) aimed at resuming monitoring and ensuring compliance with international rules.
“Despite the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the [IAEA] and the proposals presented to resolve the [nuclear] issue, the actions of European countries will effectively suspend the path of cooperation with the Agency,” the council said. It went on to order the Foreign Ministry to “continue its consultations within the framework of the decisions of the Supreme National Security Council to protect the country’s national interests.”
Al Jazeera noted that the vote at the UNSC on Sept. 19 means the “snapback” sanctions could take effect as early as Sept. 28. These would include the reimposition of an arms embargo against Iran, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities with ballistic missiles, and a punishing global asset freeze as well as travel bans on Iranian individuals and entities.
