Iran said Wednesday it expects European powers who triggered a snapback of UN sanctions to respond positively to its signing of a new cooperation agreement with the UN nuclear watchdog.
The statement came as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared to speak by telephone on Wednesday with his British, French and German counterparts.
"We have demonstrated that we are not averse to diplomacy and take every opportunity to safeguard the interests and benefits of the Iranian nation," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during his weekly press conference.
"It is natural to expect that Iran's positive approach and good-faith efforts will be met with similar and reciprocal action from the European parties."
Last week, Iran agreed a new cooperation framework with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after it suspended cooperation with the UN watchdog following Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities in June.
The agreement came days after the three European powers activated the "snapback" mechanism of a moribund 2015 nuclear deal to reimpose UN sanctions that have been suspended for nearly a decade. They cited what they called "significant" non-compliance by Iran.
The UN sanctions are now set to come back into force next month unless Iran heeds the European governments' calls to restore cooperation with the IAEA and resume nuclear talks with the United States, suspended since June.
The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activities. President Donald Trump effectively torpedoed it during his first term in 2018, when he withdrew the United States and reimposed US sanctions.
With AFP
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