Iran’s Supreme Leader Rejects Negotiations Over Country’s Nuclear Program as Snapback Deadline Looms

Latest Developments

Khamenei Rejects Talks: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected direct talks with the United States over the future of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, as the September 27 deadline approaches for the reimposition of UN sanctions against Iran under the “snapback” mechanism. Khamenei asserted on September 23 that Iran would not “surrender to pressure” regarding uranium enrichment, while also claiming that the United States is attempting to restrict Tehran’s missile program. The “snapback” mechanism enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 — which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — would freeze Iranian assets abroad, restore arms and missile embargos on Iran, outlaw Tehran’s ballistic missile testing, restore prohibitions against its uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, and ban nuclear trade with the regime.
Diplomatic Meeting Yields Little Progress: Foreign ministers from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — known as the E3 — met with their Iranian counterpart on September 23 during the ongoing UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. Despite the Iranian Foreign Ministry stating after the talks that “some ideas and proposals for continuing diplomacy were raised during the meeting,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul cautioned that, “The possibilities and chances of reaching a diplomatic solution before sanctions are triggered are extremely slim.” Separately, a French diplomatic source told Reuters that the “conditions” for Iran to avoid sanctions under “snapback” had still not been met.
IAEA Head Says Inspectors Traveling to Iran: After meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the UNGA on September 22, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that a team of nuclear inspectors was traveling to Iran in case a deal for the delay of sanctions was reached in the coming days. “We have just a few hours, days, to see whether something can be achieved, and this is the effort in which we are all embarked on,” Grossi stressed, labeling conversations between the E3, Iran, the United States, and the IAEA as “intense.”

FDD Expert Response

“The E3 set for Iran an incredibly low bar to delay snapback: abide by its nonproliferation safeguards agreement by resuming IAEA monitoring, permitting safeguards over missing nuclear material, and negotiating with the United States. The regime’s clear response of ‘no’ to these conditions means the West must enforce the nuclear dismantlement that America and Israel imposed via key UN sanctions — and if necessary, via force.” — Andrea Stricker, Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director and Research Fellow

“‘Supreme Leader’ is a title that Khamenei wants audiences to take as literally as possible. This whole time, the Islamic Republic’s most powerful person has had a plan to conserve as much leverage as possible while giving up as little in return without triggering another war. By continuing to rule out U.S. conditions while not even meeting the low bar set by the E3, Tehran is proving that it never intended to compromise when it came to its nuclear program.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow