Sweeping UN sanctions return to hit Iran after nuclear talks fail

Widespread U.N. sanctions against Iran returned into force late Saturday for the first time in a decade, after last-ditch nuclear talks with Western powers failed to produce a breakthrough.

The sanctions, three months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran, bar dealings related to Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missiles program and are also expected to have wider effects on its troubled economy.

European and U.S. diplomats stressed immediately after the resumption of sanctions that diplomacy was not over.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Tehran to "accept direct talks, held in good faith."

He also called on U.N. member states to "immediately" implement sanctions to "pressure Iran's leaders to do what is right for their nation, and best for the safety of the world."

The British, French, and German foreign ministers said in a joint statement they would continue to seek "a new diplomatic solution to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon."

They also called on Tehran "to refrain from any escalatory action."

Iran has allowed U.N. inspectors to return to its nuclear sites, but President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States had offered only a short reprieve in return for handing over its whole stockpile of enriched uranium, a proposal he described as unacceptable.

An 11th-hour effort by Iran allies, Russia, and China, to postpone the sanctions until April failed to win enough votes in the Security Council on Friday, leading to the measures taking effect at midnight GMT Sunday, or 8 p.m. on Saturday in New York.

Germany, which triggered the return of sanctions alongside Britain and France, had "no choice" as Iran was not complying with its obligations, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

"For us, it is imperative: Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon," he told the U.N. General Assembly.

"But let me emphasize: we remain open to negotiations on a new agreement. Diplomacy can and should continue."

Russia made clear it would not enforce the sanctions, considering them invalid.

The sanctions "finally exposed the West's policy of sabotaging the pursuit of constructive solutions in the U.N. Security Council, as well as its desire to extract unilateral concessions from Tehran through blackmail and pressure," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons.

AFP