Iran protests 'provocative' UN meeting on nuclear programme, summons European diplomats

Iran on Thursday summoned diplomats representing the United Kingdom, France and Germany in protest over a UN Security Council meeting on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

There was “no technical or legal justification” for the meeting, AFP quoted Iranian foreign ministry as saying in a statement, calling it “provocative and political, in line with the unilateral and nervous approach of the United States”.

The closed-door meeting was called on Wednesday by six of the council’s 15 members - the US, France, Greece, Panama, South Korea and Britain.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, has cautioned that Iran is “dramatically” increasing its uranium enrichment to 60% purity, nearing the 90% weapons-grade threshold.

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Western nations say there is no justification for enriching uranium to such high levels for any civilian programme, noting that no other country has done so without developing nuclear weapons.

However, Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

The three diplomatic representatives “were summoned to the foreign ministry in protest over their complicity with the United States and for holding a meeting behind closed doors on Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme,” added the statement.

Ahead of the meeting, Britain warned that it would trigger a return of UN sanctions on Iran, if needed, to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

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“We are clear that we will take any diplomatic measures to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, that includes the use of snapback (of sanctions), if needed,” said Britain’s deputy UN Ambassador James Kariuki told reporters.

Iran’s UN mission accused the United States of seeking to weaponise the UN Security Council “to escalate economic warfare against Iran,” adding in a post on X: “This dangerous abuse must be rejected to protect the council’s credibility.”

The US mission to the UN said in a statement after the council meeting that Iran was “the only country in the world without nuclear weapons producing highly enriched uranium, for which it has no credible peaceful purpose.”

It accused Iran of defying the Security Council and violating IAEA obligations, calling on the council to “be clear and united in addressing and condemning this brazen behavior.”

In 2015, Iran reached a landmark deal on its nuclear programme with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, which led to a lessening of sanctions targeting Tehran in exchange for curbs on its programme.

But in 2018, during his first White House term, Trump withdrew from the deal and reimposed heavy sanctions.

Since his return to the White House in January, the Republican president has called for a new nuclear deal with Iran, but Tehran says no such agreement is possible as long as punishing sanctions remain in place.

US President Donald Trump last month restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in a bid to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. But he also said he was open to a deal and was willing to talk to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Trump wrote a letter to Iran calling for nuclear talks, which was delivered on Wednesday, but Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected holding negotiations.

China will hold a meeting on Friday in Beijing with Russia and Iran on the Iranian “nuclear issue”, its foreign ministry said, with both nations sending their deputy foreign ministers.

With inputs from agencies