Tehran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, referring to Europe's push for the so-called 'snapback' sanctions mechanism against Iran, says UN Security Council members have not reached a consensus yet.
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, during his weekly presser on Monday, Baqaei responded to a question regarding the repeated anti-Iran move by three European countries. He stated that Germany, France, and Britain - spurred by US incitement and pressure - have been trying since last year to reinstate sanctions under the Security Council resolutions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
He explained that the United States and European countries held a meeting at the UNSC recently to once again give their position a sense of continuity. However, China, Russia - two veto-wielding members - and other nations opposed to this process expressed their own stance, showing a fundamental disagreement within the Council.
Following a controversial resolution presented by the United States and the E3 at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting last week, France, as the rotating chair of the Security Council, called a meeting over the renewed accusations against Iran's peaceful nuclear program.
China and Russia rejected the move, whereas Iran called on the Council to fully abide by the UN Charter and international law and to reject opportunistic and deliberate attempts by the US and certain members to politicize or instrumentalize its procedures.
Baqaei also addressed the existing regional scenario, in the face of US and Israeli aggression against Iran, as well as disputes among regional countries and a potential roadmap or mechanism for re-organizing relations with regional states.
He mentioned that while a planned meeting in Oman, involving Iran and other Persian Gulf littoral states, had been postponed, such a gathering could certainly be a step toward reviving dialogue between nations.
Baqaei emphasized that the issue is not solely about Iran and those countries, noting that even they themselves need to engage in dialogue with one another on many issues in the region, including the situation in Yemen.
Stressing the need for everyone to make a serious effort to revive and create the opportunity for dialogue, Baqaei said the Iranian nation would certainly seize every chance to highlight past experiences, particularly those of the last six months. During this period, the security and sovereignty of regional nations were exploited and undermined by the US and the Zionist regime to facilitate their attack on a Muslim country.
The spokesperson underscored that the first step toward establishing mutual understanding and trust for regional countries is to prevent the use of their airspace, territory, and facilities for military aggression against Iran, referring to American bases in the region that were the source of illegal attacks.