US wants Iranians to ‘liberate themselves,’ Trump aide says

UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015, endorses the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries. The US unilaterally withdrew the accord in 2018.

The resolution includes provisions for monitoring Iran's compliance and sets a timeline for the eventual end of UN sanctions, provided Iran upholds its commitments.

“We held a joint meeting with the ambassadors and permanent representatives of China and Russia to review developments and adopt shared positions,” said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

“We always coordinate our positions on key international issues, especially those concerning Iran.”

The meeting took place at Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations on the sidelines of Gharibabadi’s trip to attend Security Council sessions.

A high-level meeting with Russian and Chinese officials was also held in Tehran on Tuesday, as reported by IRNA state news agency. This was part of a diplomatic effort to shield the country from the threat of reimposed UN sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism.

Gharibabadi also warned Wednesday that if European powers trigger the snapback mechanism, “leaving the NPT remains an option.”

Tehran has also agreed to host a technical team from the International Atomic Energy Agency in the coming weeks to discuss what Gharibabadi called a “new model for cooperation.”

“The delegation will come to discuss this framework,” he said. “They will not be inspecting nuclear sites.”

Late in June, Iran’s parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA after the ceasefire with Israel, demanding security guarantees.

Red lines for talks with Washington

The Iranian diplomat said talks could resume if Washington builds trust, pledges not to use negotiations as a pretext for military action, and recognizes Iran’s rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"To enter negotiations with the American side, several principles are essential: building Iran’s trust — as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States; ensuring that talks are not used as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action, even though Iran will remain fully prepared; and respecting and recognizing Iran’s rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including enrichment in accordance with its desired needs," he wrote in a post on X Thursday.

Gharibabadi will lead the Iranian delegation for talks with European powers in Istanbul on Friday - in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to salvage a deal and avert a return of United Nations sanctions against Iran.

Washington confirmed on Tuesday that it is coordinating closely with the E3 (Britain, France and Germany) ahead of the Istanbul talks, while remaining "ready to talk directly" to Tehran.

“The nuclear industry in our country is firmly established. Pressure and attacks cannot uproot it. It will flourish again,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

His remarks come as Tehran prepares for renewed nuclear talks with Britain, France and Germany, under pressure from European powers threatening to trigger the UN snapback mechanism by the end of August if Iran fails to return to substantive negotiations.

The diplomatic pressure follows last month’s US-Israeli airstrikes on June 22, which targeted Iran’s key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

President Donald Trump called the mission, dubbed Midnight Hammer, a success, saying the goal was to “completely destroy” Iran’s uranium enrichment capability. The Pentagon said the attacks, carried out by B-2 bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles, delayed Iran’s program by one to two years.

Enrichment halted, Iran vows to rebuild

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Fox News earlier this week that enrichment had stopped due to the “serious and severe” damage. “We cannot give up enrichment,” he told Fox News. “It is a question of national pride.” He added that the facilities were destroyed but said the program could be rebuilt because the technology and scientists remain in place.

The June strikes came after an Israeli missile barrage on June 13 triggered a 12-day war between Israel and Iran. A ceasefire was reached on June 24. The attacks also followed five rounds of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.

Despite operational setbacks, Iranian officials continue to emphasize the long-term durability of the nuclear program. “Buildings can be rebuilt. Machines can be replaced. The people who made them are still here,” Araghchi said.

Kamalvandi echoed that view on Thursday, saying the attacks may delay progress but would not derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “This industry will bloom again,” he said.

“Cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate weapons that must never be used,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.

“By using such weapons in or near populated residential areas, Iranian forces endangered civilian lives and demonstrated clear disregard for international humanitarian law.”

According to Amnesty, Iranian ballistic missiles dispersed dozens of submunitions over the densely populated Gush Dan metropolitan area on 19 June, with additional strikes verified in Beersheba on 20 June and Rishon LeZion on 22 June. One of the submunitions struck the basketball court of a school in Beersheba. No injuries were reported, but remnants found at the scene matched cluster bomblets documented in the earlier Tel Aviv-area attack.

“Civilians, particularly children, are most at risk of injury or death from unexploded submunitions,” Guevara Rosas added.

Amnesty emphasized that the high dud rate of many submunitions leaves behind long-term threats. Some ordnance may remain explosive for years, posing risks to residents returning to affected areas.

Indiscriminate weapons and legal implications

Cluster munitions, which scatter small explosive devices over a wide area, are widely banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Neither Iran nor Israel is party to the treaty. Amnesty urged both governments to accede to the convention.

International humanitarian law forbids indiscriminate attacks, particularly those involving weapons that cannot be precisely directed at a specific military target. Launching such attacks into areas where civilians are present constitutes a war crime.

Amnesty said the ballistic missiles used by Iranian forces attacks were inaccurate by design. Previous assessments of similar strikes, including those launched in October 2024, found targeting errors averaging more than 500 meters.

The organization also cited past incidents suggesting Iran’s possession and testing of cluster submunitions. A similar munition landed in Gorgan, northern Iran, in September 2023 after what the Iranian Defense Ministry described as a failed weapons test. Though the ministry denied testing cluster ordnance, photographs published by state-aligned media closely resemble the bomblets found in Israel last month.

No Iranian response

Amnesty said it submitted formal inquiries to Iranian authorities on July 15 regarding the use of cluster munitions. No response had been received at the time of publication.

The 12 Day War between Iran and Israel in June resulted in the deaths of at least 1,062 people in Iran, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians, according to the Iranian government spokesman.

"We have presented 1,062 martyrs in this war, including 102 women and 38 children," Fatemeh Mohajerani said in her weekly press briefing. She added that five paramedics, five nurses, and seven emergency responders were also among the casualties.

In Israel, at least 29 people, including women and children were killed as reported by the Israeli Health Ministry.

The move comes a month after US and Israeli attacks targeted Iranian nuclear sites and before European and Iranian envoys are due to meet in Istanbul for nuclear talks on Friday.

“A window now exists to completely change the trajectory of the Middle East for the better, but that window will close unless we convince Iran that its nuclear weapons program will never be tolerated, period,” Senator Pete Ricketts said in a floor speech on Wednesday.

“That’s why this resolution urges the E3 (UK, Germany and France) to snapback sanctions as soon as possible. We must not let Iran off the hook,” Senator Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, said.

Any party to a now lapsed 2015 nuclear agreement is entitled to file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance, renewing sanctions the deal had suspended.

Despite heavy blows suffered during the conflict, Iran has refused to relinquish enrichment and insists its nuclear program is a peaceful national achievement.

“In order to seize this moment, the US and our allies must impose maximum pressure to the highest extent possible to force Iran to agree to permanently and verifiably end its nuclear program, including its capacity to enrich,” Ricketts added.

Speaking to Iran International, co-sponsor of the resolution Senator Jim Risch said the lawmakers wanted the European countries to trigger snapback "immediately".

"It is obvious that the intent of the Iranian regime is to build a nuclear weapon. We cannot have that, that’s got to stop," the Idaho Republican said.

"The president has re-enacted the maximum pressure campaign that we have had on Iran. It worked in the past, it can work again and that is what we are going to pursue."

"In the absence of a deal, the United States continues to impose maximum diplomatic and economic pressure to constrain any activities, like the pursuit of a nuclear weapon that would threaten the security of US citizens, personnel, and partners in the region," acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Shea said Tehran must choose between continuing to block international oversight while supporting it's regional allied groups, or engaging in “meaningful, time-bound diplomacy” that could pave the way for peace and reintegration into the global economy.

“Iran can continue its current path of defying the NPT(Non-Proliferation Treaty)-mandated safeguards obligations in a bid to reconstitute its nuclear program in secrecy,” she said.

Iran passed the law suspending cooperation with the IAEA following last month's US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this week that Tehran has not ended cooperation with the agency. Instead, he said future coordination with inspectors would now be managed by the country’s Supreme National Security Council.

“Already, Iran's law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has obscured international visibility into its program.”

Snapback looms

Shea's warning comes amid growing pressure from the US and its European allies, who have set an end-of-August deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal or face the reimposition of full UN sanctions under the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism.

The snapback mechanism, created under UN Security Council Resolution 2231—which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal—allows any party to the agreement to reimpose sanctions if Iran is found non-compliant.

If no resolution is passed within 30 days to continue sanctions relief, all prior UN measures automatically come back into force.

Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with European powers including Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Friday in Istanbul. However, talks with the United States remain stalled after a planned sixth round in Muscat was cancelled on the eve of the Israel's June 13 strikes on Iran.