Iran said on Saturday it was no longer subject to restrictions on its nuclear program when a historic 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, although Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy.”
The 2015 agreement, signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, contemplated the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
But the pact was already in tatters after Washington unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump’s first term, and Iran later backed away from its commitments.
Last month’s reimposition of UN sanctions at the behest of three of the deal’s European signatories made the agreement effectively moot.
As of now, “all provisions (of the agreement), including restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program and related mechanisms, are considered terminated,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the day of the pact’s expiration.
“Iran firmly expresses its commitment to diplomacy,” he added.
Western powers have long accused Iran of secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, something it has repeatedly denied, insisting its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, such as energy production.
The “termination day” of the agreement was set for October 18, 2025, exactly 10 years after it was enshrined in UN Security Council resolution 2231.
The deal limited Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent in exchange for sanctions relief and provided for strict oversight of its nuclear activities by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
But Washington abandoned the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, after which Tehran began to ramp up its nuclear program.
According to the IAEA, Iran is the only country without a nuclear weapons program to enrich uranium to 60 percent, which is close to the 90 percent threshold required for a bomb and well above the level needed for civilian nuclear use.
‘Irresponsible actions’
In July, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA following the war with Israel, and Tehran noted that the agency did not condemn Israeli and US attacks on its nuclear facilities.
Israel’s unprecedented bombing campaign and Iran’s retaliation during the 12-day war derailed ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
At the initiative of France, Britain and Germany, widespread UN sanctions against Iran came back into force at the end of September for the first time in a decade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to the United Nations on Saturday that the expiration of the 2015 deal makes the sanctions “null and void.”
Britain, France and Germany accuse Iran of not cooperating with the IAEA and would like to see it return to negotiations with the United States.
“Iran’s efforts to revive exchanges (with the IAEA) that led to the Cairo agreement were also sabotaged by the irresponsible actions of the three European countries,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, referring to a recent framework for resuming cooperation.
