European nations will impose "dramatic sanctions" on Iran in weeks if it doesn't end nuclear uncertainty and allow UN inspectors to return, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned on Tuesday, according to the Guardian.
Lammy cautioned that Iran "cannot assume Israel would not strike its nuclear sites again." He stated, "Iran has lost its air defenses and I suspect the Israelis, monitoring Iran very closely, are free to act again, if they think they can further degrade Iran’s nuclear capability."
UK, France, Germany - known as the E3 - can trigger "snapback" UN sanctions from the 2015 nuclear deal, which would "impose dramatic sanctions on Iran across nearly every single front in its economy," Lammy stated. Sanctions include cargo inspections, arms embargoes, and missile tech restrictions.
"Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation [with the UN nuclear inspectorate] will only lead to greater uncertainty about their nuclear intentions," Lammy warned.
Iran suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week, following a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and significantly escalated tensions with the UN watchdog.
The Iranian government contends that a resolution passed last month by the board of the IAEA, which declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations, paved the way for the recent Israeli strikes.
The recent IAEA resolution opens the door for European officials to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council later this summer if nuclear talks show no progress, a move separate from the "snapback mechanism" to reimpose UN sanctions before the 2015 accord expires on October 18. Diplomats indicate the E3 had considered an end-of-August deadline for initiating the snapback.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently issued a stark warning to European powers, cautioning that any move to trigger UN sanctions on Tehran could lead to a serious and potentially irreversible escalation in tensions.