TEHRAN - Tehran has summoned the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to express strong opposition to their role in convening a recent United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran's nuclear program.

The meeting, which took place on March 12, was noted by Iranian officials as an unjustified and provocative act orchestrated in collaboration with the United States.

The closed-door meeting on Tehran's nuclear program, initiated by the UK, France and German at Washington's request, came a few days after the IAEA Board of Governors made its observations about Iran's nuclear issue.

Mohammad Hassan Nejad Pirkouhi, Director-General for International Peace and Security at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, met with the envoys—representing France, Germany, and the UK’s chargé d’affaires in the absence of its ambassador. He criticized the three European nations' "irresponsible" alignment with U.S. policies, reiterating Iran's stance that the meeting lacked any legal or technical basis.

Iran repeatedly states that its nuclear program operates within the frameworks of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Safeguards Agreement. Officials emphasized that the program remains consistent with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement that allowed Iran to scale back its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from sanctions. 

After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran remained fully committed to the JCPOA for a full year. Finally, in May 2019, after the European sides failed to honor their commitments, Iran started to gradually lift limits on its nuclear activities. At the time Iran announced if the European parties would abide by their share of the agreement it would reverse its decision. However, the Europeans failed to do so.

Revival talks for the JCPOA have stalled due to Western hesitation and excessive demands. Despite these challenges, Iran has continued its diplomatic engagement with the IAEA and has shown willingness to restore the JCPOA—provided that sanctions relief is guaranteed. Recent negotiations with the European Troika in Geneva highlight Tehran’s continued preference for diplomacy.

During the security council meeting, James Kariuki, the United Kingdom’s envoy, expressed alarm over Iran’s alleged production of highly enriched uranium, saying that if the situation demands it, they will not hesitate to invoke the snapback mechanism.

The issue of the snapback mechanism has been a contentious one for years. During his previous administration, Donald Trump pressured Europe to activate snapback sanctions before Iran had even begun enriching uranium to 60%. Under the mechanism, pre-JCPOA sanctions could be reinstated, forcing Iran to halt all uranium enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy-water projects. Meanwhile, Europe’s latest resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors has increased tensions further by demanding a comprehensive report on Iran’s nuclear activities by Spring 2025. Tehran has called this move a sign of European hostility.  

In response to these latest threats, Iran has warned that it may withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if the snapback mechanism is fully reinstated. This warning was conveyed by Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi following Geneva talks with UK, French, and German representatives in December 2024.

The Foreign Ministry further criticized the Security Council session as politically driven, saying it undermines the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) authority and disrupts the established cooperation between Iran and the IAEA.

The European diplomats reportedly assured Iran that its objections would be conveyed to their respective capitals.