UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to world leaders on Wednesday. He blamed the United States and Israel for “dealing a grievous blow” to peace talks. This comes as Tehran prepares for UN sanctions to be reinstated in the next week. The country needs a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough to stop the sanctions. Hours before his speech, Iran’s rial currency hit a new all-time low.
Pezeshkian’s remarks were his first on a global stage. They followed a 12-day war between Israel and Iran this summer. During that war, many of Iran’s top military and political leaders were assassinated. The conflict also broke down weeks of negotiations with the United States.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you all saw what happened this past June,” the president said. “My country faced a brutal attack. This action clearly went against basic international law.” Within Iran’s political landscape, people consider the president a moderate.
Pezeshkian is in New York because Tehran wants to start last-minute talks with European nations. The goal is to stop the coming sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. However, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, overshadowed these diplomatic efforts. On Tuesday, he gave a speech. He rejected any direct nuclear talks with America.
“The U.S. announced the results of the talks in advance,” Khamenei said. “They want us to shut down our nuclear activities. They want to stop enrichment. This is not a negotiation. It is a demand, an order.” A deadline for sanctions is approaching.
A Critical Deadline
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom started the “snapback mechanism” to bring back sanctions. This will happen unless they can make a last-minute deal. The mechanism is a part of the 2015 nuclear agreement. It aims to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The “snapback” mechanism is veto-proof at the U.N. It began a 30-day period for sanctions to resume. That period ends on Sunday. A diplomatic agreement between the West and Iran is the only way to stop it.
European nations say they will extend the deadline if Iran meets a few conditions. Iran must resume direct talks with the U.S. about its nuclear program. It also must give U.N. nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites. Finally, it must account for over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. The U.N. watchdog says Iran has this material. Iran is the only nation in the world without a weapons program that enriches uranium up to 60%. This is just one technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
A European diplomat said that talks between Araghchi and the E3 in New York produced no new results. Therefore, European sources “expect that the snapback procedure will continue as planned.”
Pezeshkian used his U.N. speech to criticize the E3. He said they had acted in “bad faith” for years. He added that they tried to dictate Iranian compliance with a deal the U.S. left in 2018. “They falsely presented themselves as good parties to the agreement,” he said. “They also made our sincere efforts seem insufficient.”
If there is no deal this week, the sanctions will automatically “snapback” on Sunday. This would freeze Iranian assets abroad again. It would also halt arms deals with Tehran. Additionally, it would penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program. All of these measures would further strain the country’s struggling economy.
Ongoing Nuclear and Economic Issues
The maneuvering over Iran’s nuclear program remains complex. Earlier this month, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran signed a deal. Egypt helped mediate the agreement. It was designed to help cooperation resume, including inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites. However, that agreement has not fully taken hold.
In July, Pezeshkian signed a law passed by his country’s parliament. This law stopped all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This happened after Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites in the 12-day war in June.
Iran has always said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Western nations and the IAEA disagree. They believe Tehran had an active nuclear weapons program until 2003. Khamenei said again on Tuesday that Iran does not want atomic bombs.
However, he added, “Science will not be demolished by threats and bombing.” This clearly suggests that Iran will continue its nuclear research.
The threat of sanctions is already hurting Iran’s economy. Iran’s rial currency fell to a new all-time low on Wednesday. It reached 1,074,000 to the U.S. dollar just before Pezeshkian’s speech at the U.N. The country’s economy is weak. Years of sanctions, corruption, and bad management have damaged it. The June war also shut down Tehran’s stock market and currency exchange shops. That stopped the currency from collapsing for a time. When Iran reached its nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, the rial traded at 32,000 to $1.
The economy has sparked protests before. After state-set gasoline prices increased in 2019, protests spread to about 100 cities. People burned down gas stations and banks. As sanctions get closer, a threat of new social and economic instability remains. This is a major concern for both the Iranian government and the international community.
