Britain could trigger a so-called snapback mechanism to restore United Nations sanctions on Iran if Tehran does not curb its uranium enrichment, a UK ambassador to the UN said on Wednesday.
"We will take any diplomatic measures to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, and that includes the use of snapback if needed," UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN James Kariuki told reporters ahead of a closed-door Security Council meeting on Iran.
Kariuki said the meeting was called due to serious concerns over a recent International Atomic Energy Agency report which found Iran had accumulated 275 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity.
"That’s way beyond anything needed for civilian use, and no other non-nuclear state has anything like that amount," he said.
He added that London welcomed overtures by US President Donald Trump to Tehran on renewed talks, saying, "We would encourage Iran to engage seriously. We would like diplomacy to work, so we're going to give it our best shot."
Iran’s foreign ministry on Wednesday dismissed the Security Council meeting as "without technical or legal justification," insisting its nuclear activities are peaceful.
Six UN Security Council members—France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain, and the US—called for the urgent meeting to discuss Iran's non-compliance with IAEA requests.
China, another permanent member of the Security Council, suggested before the closed-door meeting that pressuring Iran further may not be helpful.
Applying maximum pressure on a particular country will not yield the desired outcome," Beijing's UN envoy Fu Cong said.
"We should use the limited time left until the deadline in October to reach a new and sustainable agreement, because that is the best solution," he added, referring to the date when the UN's sanctions relief agreed as part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran expires.
In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Britain, Germany, France, the US, Russia, and China, trading sanctions relief for nuclear program curbs.
Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 under President Donald Trump, prompting Tehran to scale back its commitments.
Britain, France, and Germany have informed the UN Security Council of their readiness to trigger a snapback of international sanctions to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons, a measure they will lose the ability to enact on October 18th.
Trump has instructed his UN envoy to collaborate with allies on reimposing sanctions.