US, European states say patience wearing thin with Iran nuclear program

Speaking during a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Wednesday, Mohsen Naziri Asl accused Britain, France and Germany (known as the E3) of violating both the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA, and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – the basis for the deal.

"Since the E3 are in violation of Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, they lack the legal and moral standing to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism in response to Iran's limited and legitimate actions, which are explicitly recognized in the JCPOA," he said.

He argued that they had no grounds to reactivate the dispute process in response to what he called Iran’s legitimate measures, which he said were explicitly permitted under the agreement.

“Any attempt to trigger the dispute mechanism or pursue this futile path is legally baseless, unjust and unlawful, and will be firmly rejected,” he added.

The snapback mechanism allows for the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on Iran if it is deemed to have violated the JCPOA.

Iran has progressively reduced its compliance with the nuclear deal in response to the United States' 2018 withdrawal from the agreement and the subsequent reimposition of sanctions, including reducing access to IAEA inspectors.

The E3 has repeatedly expressed concern over Iran's nuclear activities, but Tehran maintains its actions are justified and within the framework of the JCPOA.

During another session of the IAEA Board of Governors on Tuesday, the European Union warned that Iran’s continued nuclear expansion poses a growing risk of proliferation, calling on Tehran to return to its commitments under 2015 deal and adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The United States also said Iran's accelerating nuclear program is imperiling world peace and either aims to get Tehran closer to a bomb or force the world to ease sanctions.

The statement was delivered in Vienna during the quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Tuesday.

“The EU remains deeply concerned by the continued alarming expansion of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has gravely departed from its the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) commitments and has gained irreversible knowledge.

"The EU notes with particular concern Iran’s significantly increased production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium and the expansion of its nuclear enrichment capability and operations,” the EU representative in Vienna said.

The EU praised IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and his team for their independent monitoring and reaffirmed that ensuring Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon remains a key security priority.

“We call on all countries to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) endorsing the JCPOA, which provides the basis for the IAEA's monitoring and reporting. We regret that Iran has not made the necessary decisions to return to its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA.”

According to the EU, Iran’s uranium enrichment has reached levels that raise significant proliferation concerns. “The DG’s report documents a sharp increase of material enriched at 60% which is now produced at an unprecedented rate, with a 50% increase in the reporting period," the statement said.

"Iran already accumulated more than 6 significant quantities of 60% enriched material [which the Agency defines as the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded] and is currently producing one significant quantity of highly enriched uranium every month.”

The EU also condemned Iran’s decision to remove JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment, arguing that it has compromised the IAEA’s ability to verify the nature of Iran’s nuclear activities.

In addition, the EU criticized Iran’s rejection of four additional IAEA inspectors on the back of 2023's ban around one third of the inspectors.

“We echo the DG’s deep regret that Iran, despite having initially accepted to consider it, has finally refused the designation of four additional experienced inspectors recently proposed by the Agency," a statement said.

The United States also said on Tuesday that Iran's accelerating nuclear program is imperiling world peace and either aims to get Tehran closer to a bomb or extort the world to extract concessions.

Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and has branded suspicions over its intentions as a way for outside powers to meddle in internal affairs.

Grossi reported that Iran's uranium stock refined to up to 60% purity grew by 92.5 kilograms (kg) in the past quarter to 274.8 kg. According to an IAEA parameter, the amount is enough in principle for six nuclear bombs if enriched further.

Trump has mooted a deal over the program but Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ruled out talks while the administration imposes 'maximum pressure' policies including toughened sanctions.

"The topic of Iran was on agenda, it was touched upon but not in detail," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters on Wednesday, referring to talks between Russia and the US in Riyadh last month.

"We suggested making it a separate subject of our dialogue and our consultations in the future," Peskov added. "Russia's position is that the issue of Iran’s nuclear dossier needs to be solved only through political and diplomatic means ... Russia is ready to do everything possible for it."

Moscow and Tehran signed a strategic cooperation treaty in January which both said would further strengthen ties that have been growing in the last few years.

Russia has relied on Iranian-made drones in its war in Ukraine, while Iran has sought deeper economic and military ties with Moscow to counter US-led sanctions.

President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine may pave the way for further cooperation with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has offered to leverage his unique standing in Tehran to mediate between Iran and the US.

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Russia has agreed to assist Washington in communicating with Iran on various issues, including its support for regional groups hostile to the US.

The report has not been confirmed by Russian officials.

Iran has accelerated its nuclear program since 2022, enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels while restricting access to international inspectors.

President Trump has said that his administration will not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons but would seek a deal to that end before turning to other options.

Iran asserts that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, a position doubted by the UN nuclear watchdog, which says no non-nuclear armed country has ever enriched uranium to the purity that Tehran has.

Russia on Tuesday defended Iran’s actions in recent years, arguing that Tehran’s steps were a response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, a decision made in 2018 during the first Trump administration.

"We must lead the IDF in a reality where the Iranian threat is ever-present and the enemy is striving with all its might to obtain nuclear weapons and establish them within our borders," he said as outgoing Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi handed over to the new Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

On Tuesday, the interim US envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Howard Solomon, called Iran's nuclear program an "existential threat" to the international community.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also spoke at the event, said that Israel is “determined to achieve decision and victory” over Iran and its allied groups.

Katz spoke of Halevi's tenure, highlighting the challenges facing Israel in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion.

The shock attack saw more than 3,000 militants storm the country, killing around 1,200 mostly civilians in Israel. Over 250 more were taken hostage in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

"From the failure to protect our citizens on the Black Sabbath of October 7, you knew how to rise, recover, and lead an army that achieved a series of impressive military successes - in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, Yemen - and Iran," Katz said, referring to the onslaught of attacks from Iran-backed groups around the region sparked by the Gaza war.

Additionally, last year saw two direct aerial barrages from Iran as the shadow war between the two archenemies came into light, with Israeli retaliation taking out large swathes of Iran's air defences.

Since then, Iran has put even heavier focus on its allies in the occupied West Bank and stepped up spy operations in the country, Iran-backed plots rising by 400% last year, according to Israeli security.

Israel significantly weakened Iran's biggest military ally, Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to massively weakening Hamas in Gaza.

Large numbers of Hezbollah's leadership, including decades-long leader Hassan Nasrallah, were taken out in targeted strikes amid a conflict which sent Israel and the group to the verge of war.

As US-brokered ceasefires have seen calm with Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel's campaign against Iran continues while Tehran's allies keep threatening the Jewish state.

Earlier this week, senior Houthi leader Nasser al-Din Amer threatened on his X account that the Iran-backed group in Yemen was ready to resume its attacks against Israel.

"The eye is watching Gaza, the hand is on the trigger, the missiles and UAVs and all military units are on alert. The decision of the leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, is clear," he said.

In an open letter organized by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), the former commanders said that “it is time to let Israel finish the job against the Iranian axis and stop Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold” and urged Washington to provide military assistance.

"A nuclear Iran would be a threat to US national security," the letter reads. "What Israel seeks from the United States is support to ensure the maximum effectiveness of its actions and manage the risk of Iranian retaliation. We should provide it expeditiously."

Referring to Iran's rising enrichment and obstruction of IAEA inspectors, it said more must be done to defend the Jewish state.

“With Iran capable of producing weapons-grade uranium in just days, working toward a nuclear weapon, and building ever-deeper underground facilities, time is running out to stop its march to the bomb,” the former generals added.

While acknowledging that diplomacy is preferable, the signatories said they doubt Iran would negotiate in good faith. "Repeated negotiations with Iran over two decades have led to one dangerous result: The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism now stands on the cusp of developing the world’s most dangerous weapons," they wrote.

In early-February, Trump declared the return of the so-called maximum pressure on Tehran, vowing to block its paths to a nuclear weapon.

"Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terror," the memo read, blaming Tehran for supporting militant groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Israel last week, called Iran the single greatest source of instability in the Middle East. "There can never be a nuclear Iran," Rubio said. "That can never happen."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during the same press conference that "Israel and America are shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran."