Iran's foreign minister on Monday said that there was still time for the West to solve its nuclear impasse with Iran through dialogue while the UN nuclear watchdog's head cited a "difficult" phase of talks with Tehran.
Abbas Araghchi, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, said he plans to meet the UN nuclear watchdog later today and will also hold meetings with three European counterparts to discuss the looming reimposition of UN sanctions they triggered last month.
“At different times, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been tested, and they know we do not respond to the language of pressure and threats," Araghchi was quoted by official media as saying. "Rather, we respond in the language of respect and dignity. If there is a solution, it is only a diplomatic one.”
Araghchi said consultations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom are ongoing, and noted that the United States is also involved “directly or indirectly,” without elaborating.
Two months of fruitless Iran-US talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program culminated in a surprise Israeli military campaign against Iran in June which was capped off by US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Following the attacks, Tehran suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. How to resume diplomacy and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections now remains a bone of contention between Iran and the West.
“We have emphasized our readiness for a diplomatic solution on the snapback mechanism, but one that secures Iran’s interests and addresses our security concerns,” Araghchi said. He warned Iran would take "the measures it must” if diplomacy fails.
UN sanctions on Iran, triggered through the so-called snapback mechanism by three European countries on August 28, are set to resume on September 28 after the UN Security Council rejected a resolution to keep the sanctions lifted in a 4–9 vote on September 19.
The sanctions would include an arms embargo, asset freezes and nuclear restrictions.
'Difficult juncture'
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, also in New York, told AFP the current situation with Iran is at a “difficult juncture.”
“It’s obviously quite a difficult juncture. It’s a very difficult situation we are facing right now,” Grossi said, adding that a series of talks are scheduled while all parties are gathered at the UN.
Iran and the IAEA signed a technical agreement in Cairo on September 9, mediated by Egypt, to make progress toward resuming nuclear inspections halted in June.
Tehran has warned that the deal will be void if new attacks or sanctions occur, though it views the agreement as a step toward de-escalation.
Seventy-one members of parliament signed a letter to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, demanding a “review of the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine,” according to the daily Hamshahri Online.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that, since the decisions of that council acquire validity with the endorsement of the Leader of the Revolution, this matter be raised without delay and the expert findings communicated to the parliament.”
The lawmakers argued that while the use of nuclear weapons would contradict a 2010 religious edict by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting them, developing and maintaining such weapons “as a deterrent is another matter,” the outlet said.
“In Shia jurisprudence, a change in circumstances and conditions can alter the ruling. Moreover, safeguarding Islam -- which today is bound to the preservation of the Islamic Republic -- is among the paramount obligations. On this basis, the original prohibition can, as a secondary ruling, be transformed into a permissibility.”
The initiative was led by Hassan-Ali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from the holy city of Mashhad, Hamshahri reported.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and cites Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons as proof of its intentions. The United States and its European allies accuse Tehran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
The calls from lawmakers come as Iran faces the prospect of renewed United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism set to take effect on September 28, after European powers accused Tehran of failing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is not known to have made any decision to pursue nuclear weapons, and the government has not commented on the lawmakers’ letter.
“Turning education into a commodity has deprived many working-class children of their right to study,” labor activist Maziar Gilaninejad told labor news outlet ILNA.
He cited official figures and media reports showing steep increases in school-related expenses, including a 30% rise in stationery prices, costs of about 3.5 million rials (about $35) for basic supplies for one elementary student, and reports of 750,000 children leaving school due to poverty.
He added that the result is “a direct link” between rising dropouts and the growth in child labor, with many minors pushed into hazardous workshops to support their families.
“The reality is families need their children’s wages as much as they cannot afford school fees,” he said.
Parents have echoed the concerns. Earlier this month, Iran International reported that families are often asked to pay “voluntary” enrollment fees or provide unpaid labor, such as cleaning classrooms, to secure places for their children. In some cases, schools have withheld report cards until payments were made.
University tuition has also surged, with students reporting fees doubling at some institutions in recent semesters.
“Education is becoming an exclusive path for the wealthy,” Gilaninejad said, citing data that the top 3,000 scorers in this year’s university entrance exam came almost entirely from affluent families.
Article 30 of Iran’s constitution guarantees free education, but Iran spends just 2.93% of GDP on education, well below the global average of 4.4%, according to the Global Economy data service.
Gilaninejad said neglecting this obligation risks producing “a generation systematically sidelined from opportunity” and perpetuating cycles of poverty.