TEHRAN – While talks over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal remains stalemated due to U.S. mid-term elections, the Biden administration and its European allies tabled a censure resolution against Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors that could well jeopardize years of painstaking negotiations.

The United States and the E3 countries – Germany, France, and the UK- have officially presented their censure resolution of Iran for Iran’s alleged insufficient cooperation with a safeguards probe by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Laurence Norman, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, said on Twitter that the new draft resolution contains “stronger language” than the one adopted in June.

Earlier, Reuters reported that the resolution calls it “essential and urgent” for Iran to explain uranium traces found at three allegedly undeclared sites.

Iran, which has already announced that it was willing to cooperate with the IAEA, warned the West against pressing ahead with the move.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that he warned his European counterparts of pressing ahead with the resolution. He said, “We sent the necessary messages to the European sides. We spoke to some of the European foreign ministers, including Mr. Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief.”

The Iranian foreign minister added that he told the European officials that if they don’t stop “this unconstructive path,” they will face Iran’s reciprocal and effective response.

The timing of the proposed resolution couldn’t be worse for the talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

For months, the Vienna talks have been at a standstill due to a number of reasons, most notably the U.S. mid-term elections. And after the recent unrest erupted in Iran, the U.S. and its E3 allies said they no longer consider the Vienna talks a priority. Instead, they said, they are focused on Iran’s unrest which French President Emanuel Macron went so far as to describe it a “revolution.”

From Iran’s perspective, the decision by the U.S. and the E3 to table a censure resolution is indicative of the West’s unwillingness to engage positively on the JCPOA. Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) made it clear that the proposed resolution is a step away from diplomacy.

“If they were to continue negotiations, they would not present a resolution of such proportions,” Eslami told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of a cabinet session.

He also said that Iran cooperated with the IAEA on the safeguards probe and presented its answers to questions raised by the Agency, but to no avail.

The ill-timed resolution comes at a time when the Vienna talks are still stalemated. And the West is further undermining them instead of pushing them forward. Iran warned that the censure resolution would elicit a reciprocal and effective response from Tehran.

The resolution could further deteriorate the situation around the Vienna talks as Iran is unlikely to move ahead with the talks under pressure.