Republicans pressure Britain to slap sanctions on Iran

Telegraph

4 days ago

Republican lawmakers have urged Sir Keir Starmer to slap fresh sanctions on Iran.
A group of 19 Senate Republicans called on Britain, France and Germany – the so-called E3 – to impose sanctions on Tehran 'as soon as possible' to help prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
'The US and our allies must impose maximum pressure to the highest extent possible to force Iran to agree to permanently and verifiably end its nuclear programme, including its capacity to enrich,' Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska said.
Officials from Britain, France and Germany are travelling to Turkey on Friday for talks with Iran about its nuclear plans.
The meeting will be the first negotiations between the four countries since Donald Trump ordered stealth bombers to destroy Iran's three major nuclear sites.
European allies have said that if a nuclear deal with Iran is not reached by the end of August, they plan to trigger the 'snapback' mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran which were lifted in 2015.
The measures included restrictions on trade in nuclear-related equipment, an arms embargo and severe financial penalties.
Under the terms of the deal, which Mr Trump withdrew from in 2018, the E3 can quickly activate sanctions if the Islamic Republic breaches its commitment to limit uranium enrichment.
The process of activating 'snapback' takes 30 days, with the Europeans aiming to have the measures in place before Russia assumes the UN Security Council presidency in October.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, earlier this month threatened to impose 'dramatic sanctions' on Iran if its leaders did not clear up uncertainty about their nuclear programme.
However, Senator Ricketts, who sits on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that the E3's timeline leaves 'little room for error'.
'Unsurprisingly, the Iranian regime is resorting to its longstanding playbook to delay action and prevent snapback from happening,' he said, introducing the resolution with a speech on the Senate floor.
He added that American strikes on Iran had opened a window that could 'completely change the trajectory of the Middle East'.
'But that window will close unless we convince Iran that its nuclear weapons programme will never be tolerated, period,' Senator Ricketts said.
The Iranians have argued that there is no legal basis for reimposing sanctions and have threatened to pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in response.
'We will express our position regarding the E3's comments on the snapback mechanism, which we think lacks any legal ground,' said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's foreign minister, ahead of Friday's meeting.
'It has been seven years that the nuclear deal is not being implemented by the Europeans following the US departure from it. How can they argue that Iran is not following the deal when they themselves have not done so?'
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes, despite a recent International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA report finding it had enriched uranium to 60 per cent purity.
Iranian officials on Wednesday agreed to allow a technical team from the UN nuclear watchdog to visit in the coming weeks to discuss relations with the IAEA.
Ahead of talks in Ankara, Senator Ricketts urged European allies not to alleviate pressure on Tehran.
'There are rumours that discussions could centre on what conditions the E3 would postpone snapback,' he said.
'But I stand today to urge our European friends to hold the line.'