United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iran will be restored in the event the Islamic Republic breaks a nuclear framework agreement, the P5+1 powers decided Sunday.
The major development in negotiations between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China clears a large hurdle toward the formation of such an agreement, according to an exclusive Reuters report.
According to officials involved in talks, a framework agreement would see the sanctions restored after a dispute-resolution panel including the P5+1 and Iran; the panel would produce a non-binding opinion that would be compared to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) data before the final decision was made.
The sanctions would also be rolled back without a UN Security Council vote.
Western officials told the news agency that the clause is still "tentative" and dependent on Iran's acceptance.
While world powers have talked about a gradual rolling back of sanctionsagainst Iran's nuclear program, Iran has demanded that all sanctions be lifted immediately upon signing an agreement.
The sides signed a framework deal on April 2, but are under pressure to formalize a final deal by June 30.