“Well for the Europeans they have an important decision to make very soon on the snapback of sanctions because Iran is clearly out of compliance with the current deal,” Rubio said as he left Paris after talks with European counterparts, according to AFP.
“As you saw, the IAEA was in Tehran yesterday, uh, issued public statements saying Iran is as close as it's ever been to nuclear weapons,” he further claimed.
“So we discussed that obviously because the Europeans, the E3, have a decision to make on snapback.”
“I believe we should all anticipate, based on the public comments yesterday, that they're about to get a report from the IAEA that says not just is Iran out of compliance, but Iran is dangerously close to a weapon — closer than they've ever been.”
“They're going to have to make a decision about whether they want to reimpose these sanctions. And, uh, you know, if Iran is out of compliance, they have to reimpose the sanctions.”
“So that's going to be a factor in all this. And that's why it was important we talked to them about it before our talks on Saturday.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Paris for talks with European leaders about Ukraine and its future security. The hostile comments by Rubio come only a day after Iran and US negotiators are going to hold their second session of their indirect negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program and lifting of sanctions.
During his first term in May 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from 2015 landmark nuclear deal known as the JCPOA which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
Tehran adhered to the deal until Washington's withdrawal, but then began rolling back some of its commitments.
Iran's nuclear activities are all under the monitoring of the UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA's). Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like generating energy and pharmaceuticals, or for agricultural uses.
MNA