TEHRAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned France, Germany, and Britain on Friday that Tehran would respond strongly if its rights are violated.
He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X as the three European powers, collectively known as the E3, are reportedly seeking to present an anti-Iran draft resolution at the upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), accusing Tehran of non-compliance with the United Nations nuclear watchdog's regulations.
If passed, the resolution would prepare the ground for the E3 to trigger the snapback mechanism against Tehran, a clause in a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that would allow the other parties to re-impose all international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.
Instead of engaging in dialogue with Tehran, "the E3 is opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors," the minister said.
He stressed that accusing Iran of violating the safeguards agreement with the IAEA based on "shoddy and politicized reporting" was "clearly designed to produce a crisis."
Araghchi emphasized that Europe was considering making another "major strategic mistake," warning that Iran would "react strongly against any violation of its rights," the blame for which would lie "solely and fully with irresponsible actors who stop at nothing to gain relevance."
Iran and the E3 have held several rounds of talks covering Tehran's nuclear program and the removal of sanctions, among other issues, since September 2024. The three European states have, over the past months, been threatening Iran with triggering the snapback mechanism.
It comes as Iran and the United States have held five rounds of Oman-mediated indirect talks starting from April on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions.■
