Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai announced Tehran’s readiness to continue negotiations with European countries, emphasizing that trust-building cannot be one-sided. He described threats by some European capitals to reimpose international sanctions through the ‘snapback’ mechanism as illegal and having negative consequences, noting that such a step would exclude Europe from the negotiation process. Baghai confirmed that Iran adhered to the nuclear deal provisions for years before it had to reduce some commitments in 2019 after the US withdrawal and European failure to compensate. He stressed that Tehran will not accept being a party that complies without receiving its rights stipulated in the agreement. He criticized the German Chancellor’s stance on Israeli attacks on Iran, calling his statements ‘offensive’ and ‘disappointing,’ recalling Germany’s negative role during the Iraq war by supplying Saddam Hussein’s regime with materials related to chemical weapons.

Regarding the future of negotiations, Baghai said Iran does not object to resuming dialogue with Europeans at any time but emphasized that threats of sanctions are not constructive. He added that Tehran sees no legal or logical justification for continuing to include its nuclear file on the UN Security Council’s agenda after a decade since the deal’s signing. Baghai stressed that Iran will not back down from its legitimate rights to peaceful nuclear energy use, considering any Western bet on ‘weakening Iran through pressure’ as an illusion previously proven wrong.