Iran fears public backlash if nuclear damage confirmed - Guardian
European diplomats believe Iran may be restricting full access for UN nuclear inspectors because it fears confirmation that Israeli bombing destroyed large parts of its nuclear program, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
According to the report, diplomats said such confirmation could lead to public anger from Iranians who endured decades of sanctions for a program that may no longer exist.
Tehran has said it is willing to negotiate the return of inspectors, but Western officials say it has not offered any detailed terms. Britain, France and Germany have already triggered the process to reimpose UN sanctions but say diplomacy is still on the table unless Iran grants full access to all nuclear sites, not just those spared in the Israeli strikes.
Iran's foreign ministry said European powers have no legal basis for their actions and warned of possible reprisals.
Diplomacy remains central to shaping global outcomes, even as Western powers move to reimpose UN sanctions through the snapback mechanism, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on Saturday.
“Each diplomatic move can influence the course of dialogue and global decisions,” Araghchi said in a commentary published by the Iran newspaper. He said the ministry is working to document what he called US and Israeli violations and is pursuing legal channels to respond.
The article came after Britain, France and Germany said they would begin the snapback process at the UN, which could restore sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Araghchi said Iran continues talks with neighbors and major powers like China and Russia while promoting what he called “a practical strategy of regional cooperation.” He added that Iran’s diplomacy operates across political, economic, legal and media fields, not just formal negotiations.
“These efforts build an image of Iran not as a country under pressure, but one that is active, creative and influential,” he wrote.
The head of Iran’s parliamentary national security and foreign policy commission said the activation of the UN snapback mechanism by European powers would not affect the country’s strategic calculations.
“Snapback has no impact on the equation,” Ebrahim Azizi said on Saturday, according to Fars News Agency.
“Europe is hanging onto the United States and lacks the capacity to push its own agenda,” he said. “They are trying to spread fear in Iran through media pressure, but we should not pay attention to this noise.”
Azizi added that Western powers imposed wide-ranging sanctions during the nuclear deal and failed to lift them despite their commitments. “Snapback plays no real role in this situation,” he said.
He said the commission and parliament would meet next week to discuss the issue and make a decision based on national interests.
The hardliner Kayhan newspaper, funded by Iran's Supreme Leader, called on Tehran to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after European powers moved to trigger the UN snapback mechanism.
“Europe shamelessly activated the snapback mechanism to hammer the final nail into the JCPOA’s coffin,” the paper wrote. “Iran’s response is just one sentence: withdrawal from the NPT.”
It added that such a move would be “a heavy slap that will upend not just US and European calculations, but the entire balance of power in the region.” Remaining in the treaty, it said, “means mocking national independence and insulting the Iranian people.”
Aday after three European states triggered a UN mechanism that reimposes international sanctions on Iran, the move appeared to wrongfoot Tehran's establishment despite months of warnings.
Iran's new Security Chief, Ali Larijani, seemed to misread the immediacy of the threat in an interview days before the diplomatic setback.
In an interview with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's official website on August 22, Larijani insisted that China and Russia could shield Iran against the snapback threat.
"This issue is currently under review domestically, and as far as I know, some countries are making efforts to negotiate in order to prevent it from happening. Russia and China also hold a different position. They're acting as obstacles."
A day after three European states triggered a UN mechanism that reimposes international sanctions on Iran, the move appeared to wrongfoot Tehran's establishment despite months of warnings.
Iran's new Security Chief, Ali Larijani, seemed to misread the immediacy of the threat in an interview days before the diplomatic setback.
In an interview with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's official website on August 22, Larijani insisted that China and Russia could shield Iran against the snapback threat.
"This issue is currently under review domestically, and as far as I know, some countries are making efforts to negotiate in order to prevent it from happening. Russia and China also hold a different position. They're acting as obstacles."
Larijani is a seasoned politician, but less savvy figures, including state-appointed Friday prayer leaders, also contributed to the confusion with their remarks.
In Shiraz, Friday Prayers imam Lotfollah Dejkam offered a revisionist take on world history, saying: "Europeans have been defeated by Iran several times, and they are likely to experience an even bigger defeat as a result of the snapback."
Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayers Imam of Mashhad, appeared to downplay the seriousness of the likely economic pain due to be wrought by sanctions.
Iranians, he said, who rushed to capital markets to buy gold and foreign currency in anticipation of further devaluation of the Iranian rial were "simpletons."
Many commentators questioned the leadership's broader understanding of the nuclear deal and the international frameworks governing it.
Among the critics was Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Relations Committee, who condemned fellow politicians for their impulsive reactions.
In a post on X, he specifically addressed members of parliament who had tabled a triple-urgency motion calling on the Islamic Republic to exit the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ironically, despite attaching the highest urgency label to the bill, lawmakers postponed its discussion until Saturday, as Friday is a public holiday in Iran.
"Exiting NPT, closing Strait of Hormuz and producing an atomic bomb! For years, the nation has been paying the price for the nonsense you still repeat on (state TV)," Falahatpisheh wrote.
"You believed your own nonsense, which has prevented any rationality and initiative to get out of the deadlocks," he added.
Meanwhile, the promise of diplomatic roads not taken was examined anew.
In an interview with the Entekhab website, Mahmoud Vaezi, chief of staff to former President Hassan Rouhani, revealed that during Rouhani's final days in office, he had asked his successor, President Ebrahim Raisi, to allow him to broker a deal with the United States to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.
According to Vaezi, Raisi insisted on reviving the agreement under his own administration. Rouhani argued that even if his government signed the deal, the revenue from oil sales would benefit the incoming government.
Nonetheless, Raisi rejected the proposal, and negotiations with the United States ran aground.
