The top diplomat made the remarks in a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday concerning efforts by the UK, France, and the United States to reinstate UN Security Council’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The letter noted how the allies had chosen to go down the path of confrontation rather than cooperation, despite Tehran’s consistently demonstrating its readiness for diplomacy aimed at fair, balanced, and sustainable solutions.
He identified the stubborn approach to be rooted in the countries’ “wrongly assuming that Iran will yield to coercion.”
However, Araghchi asserted that “history has proven this assumption false — and it will do so again.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to defend its sovereign rights and interests firmly,” the official added.
“Any attempt to harm Iran will be met with appropriate responses, and full responsibility will rest with those who choose confrontation and pressure over cooperation.”
In August, the European trio triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism inside a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and others in order to have the sanctions restored.
The move built upon decades of the countries’ wrongfully trying to accuse Iran of “diverting” its peaceful nuclear energy program, despite lack of any evidence provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency across no less than 15 thorough investigative reports.
On Friday, the US, the troika, and many countries supporting them vetoed a draft resolution submitted by China and Russia aimed at delaying enactment of the “snapback.”
Araghchi reiterated that such attempts were “legally and procedurally flawed and therefore null and void.”
He reminded that the Western states had already forfeited any right to trigger restoration of the sanctions due to their own sheer non-commitment to the nuclear accord.
The foreign minister reiterated Iran’s readiness for diplomacy, but cautioned that any harm inflicted on Iran as a result of the allies’ hostile measures would lead to “appropriate responses” with full responsibility falling on those who opt for confrontation rather than cooperation.
Additionally, the official called on the UN to prevent Western misuse of its mechanisms, saying “no UN resources should be allocated” to revive the sanctions committees or panels that were set up back in 2006 to enforce the economic bans.
