UNITED NATIONS: Britain, France and Germany are pressing Iran to take a deal that would hold off fresh UN sanctions. 

The three European powers said that the offer gives Tehran more time for talks on its nuclear programme, but only if it allows inspectors back in and eases Western fears about uranium stockpiles.

UN envoys for the three countries – known as the E3 – issued a joint statement before a closed-door Security Council meeting, a day after they launched a 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

The E3 offered to delay reinstating sanctions – known as snapback – for up to six months if Iran restored access for UN nuclear inspectors, addressed concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engaged in talks with the United States.

“Our asks were fair and realistic,” said Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who read the statement. “However, as of today, Iran has shown no indication that it is serious about meeting them.”

“We urge Iran to reconsider this position, to reach an agreement based on our offer, and to help create the space for a diplomatic solution to this issue for the long term,” she said, with her German and French counterparts standing next to her.

In response, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the E3 offer was “full of unrealistic preconditions”.

“They are demanding conditions that should be the outcome of negotiations, not the starting point, and they know these demands cannot be met,” he told reporters.

Iravani said the E3 should instead back “a short, unconditional technical extension of Resolution 2231”, which enshrines a 2015 nuclear deal that lifted UN and Western sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Sino-Russian draft

Russia and China have proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would extend the 2015 deal for six months and urge all parties to immediately resume negotiations. But they have not yet asked for a vote.

The pair, strategic allies of Iran, have removed controversial language from the draft – which they initially proposed on Sunday – that would have blocked the E3 from reimposing UN sanctions on Iran.

Iravani described the Russian and Chinese draft resolution as a practical step to give diplomacy more time. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, China or Russia.

UN nuclear inspectors have returned to Iran for the first time since it suspended cooperation with them after attacks in June on its nuclear sites by Israel and the United States. But Iran has not yet reached an agreement on how it would resume full work with the International Atomic Energy Agency.