Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) declared on Saturday a "suspension" of its cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following a critical UN Security Council vote that declined to maintain the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran.
The announcement, which followed a meeting chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, is a direct response to what the SNSC called the "ill-considered" actions of France, Britain, and Germany.
These three European nations, known as the E3, last month triggered the "snapback" mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which allows for the re-imposition of UN sanctions.
On Friday, the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution to prevent the reimposition of sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. The resolution, which required the support of nine nations to pass, garnered only four votes.
The SNSC statement on Saturday detailed a decision to "effectively" suspend cooperation with the IAEA, a move that comes despite Tehran's claims of having maintained ongoing cooperation and proposed solutions to the nuclear issue. The council has now tasked the Iranian Foreign Ministry with continuing diplomatic consultations to protect Iran's national interests in line with the new directive.
Some Iranian officials have previously threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the “snapback” mechanism is imposed, following the path of North Korea, which abandoned the treaty in 2003 and later developed atomic weapons.
Over the past several weeks, intensified diplomacy between Iran and the European countries has taken place, but without a resolution so far, sanctions were deemed likely.