A senior Iranian lawmaker warned Monday that Tehran could withhold its regional security commitments if European powers move to reinstate international sanctions through the UN’s snapback mechanism, Reuters reported.
“We have many tools in our disposition. We can withhold our commitment to security in the region, Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait as well as other maritime areas,” said Abbas Moqtadaei, a member of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission, in remarks to the semi-official Borna news agency.
The warning comes ahead of a Friday meeting in Istanbul between Iranian deputy foreign ministers and diplomats from Britain, France, and Germany—the E3 states—which have threatened to restore sanctions by the end of August if Tehran refuses to engage in meaningful talks on its nuclear program.
Moqtadaei criticized Europe’s position, saying the continent “is not in a position to endanger itself in the... Hormuz Strait” while facing its own internal tensions with Russia, China, and the United States.
The E3, alongside China and Russia, are the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which saw the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limitations on its nuclear activities.
The UN Security Council resolution underpinning this agreement is set to expire on October 18, with provisions allowing for the re-imposition of UN sanctions prior to this date, a process that would take approximately 30 days.
Iran has previously used threats to disrupt maritime transit and halt cooperation on drug interdiction as leverage in nuclear disputes with the West.
The Islamic Republic has threatened more than once to close the Strait of Hormuz in recent years.
The United States warned Iran in response that any attempt to close the strait would be viewed as a "red line" -- grounds for US military action.
In June, Iran's military loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf, intensifying concerns in Washington that Tehran was preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. This action followed Israeli strikes on various sites across Iran.