The European Troika Countries Inform Activation of Sanctions Against Iran

SadaNews - The foreign ministers of the European Troika countries (Britain, Germany, and France) informed their American counterpart Marco Rubio that they will activate the sanctions mechanism against Iran today, Thursday, with the sanctions to be imposed after 30 days. A report from a research group stated that Tehran has begun a cleaning process at a nuclear site that was struck by Israel.

An European diplomat told Axios that the commencement of the re-imposition of sanctions does not signify the end of diplomacy, as he put it.

He indicated that the Troika countries will remain open to communication with Iran in the weeks leading up to the enforcement of the sanctions.

He emphasized that the leaders of the Troika believe Iran is violating its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with global powers.

The three countries met with Iran last Tuesday in an attempt to revive diplomatic efforts regarding the nuclear program before losing the ability to re-impose sanctions on Tehran in mid-October, which were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Three European diplomats and a Western diplomat told Reuters that Tuesday's talks did not yield sufficient tangible commitments from Iran, although they believe there is room for further diplomacy in the coming weeks.

They added that the group of the three European nations has decided to start activating the so-called "snapback mechanism of UN sanctions," a process that takes 30 days before the re-imposition of sanctions that will include the financial, banking, hydrocarbons, and defense sectors of Iran.

Cleaning a Nuclear Site

Meanwhile, the Institute for Science and International Security stated yesterday, Wednesday, that Iran has begun a rapid cleaning process at a northern Tehran nuclear site that suffered Israeli airstrikes.

A report from the institute, as reported by Reuters, noted that satellite images "show significant efforts by Iran to rapidly remove damaged or destroyed buildings, likely aiming to erase any traces of anything that incriminates it and relates to nuclear research or weapons development activities," as per its wording.

The institute is an independent research group focused on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and is chaired by David Albright, a former UN nuclear inspector.

The Iranian Embassy at the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. Tehran denies seeking to possess nuclear weapons, repeatedly affirming that its program is for peaceful purposes.

The report comes at a time when the International Atomic Energy Agency is in talks in Tehran regarding the resumption of inspections that were disrupted due to the conflict between Israel and Iran that took place from June 13 to 24 and the strikes carried out by the United States on the 22nd of the same month against the country's three main nuclear facilities.

Source: Axios + Reuters