Iran Slams E3 Over “False Accusations” as Nuclear Tensions Escalate
Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi slammed the E3 for “false accusations” ahead of an IAEA vote that could label Iran non-compliant for the first time since 2006. As nuclear tensions escalate, Trump warns time is running out, while Iran signals strong retaliation to any resolution.
By Kamaran Aziz
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp warning to France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, over what he described as “false accusations” about Iran’s nuclear activities.
The comments, made on the Iranian Foreign Minister’s official X account on Friday, were reported by the state-run news agency IRNA, and come amid preparations by the United States and its European allies to submit a formal resolution against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Board of Governors meeting which is scheduled for next week.
After years of good cooperation with the IAEA—resulting in a resolution which shut down malign claims of a "possible military dimension" (PMD) to Iran's peaceful nuclear program—my country is once again accused of "non-compliance".
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 6, 2025
Instead of engaging in good faith, the E3 is…
According to an analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the resolution, if implemented, would mark the first time in almost 20 years that the IAEA has formally declared Iran in non-compliance with the principles on on-proliferation obligations.
The last such designation was made in 2006 and led to the imposition of UN Security Council sanctions.
In response to this, Araghchi voiced strong opposition to the proposed move, recalling Iran’s extensive past cooperation with the IAEA that had led to the closure of earlier investigations into the “possible military dimension” (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program.
“Instead of engaging in good faith, the E3 is opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors,” Araghchi wrote, further stating, “When the E3 engaged in the same foul conduct back in 2005, the outcome in many ways was the true birth of uranium enrichment in Iran. Has the E3 truly learned nothing in the past two decades?”
The Iranian Foreign Minister dismissed the reports of the valuation of IAEA non-proliferation obligations as grounded “on shoddy and politicized reporting.”
“Mark my words as Europe ponders another major strategic mistake: Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights,” he said. “Blame lies solely and fully with irresponsible actors who stop at nothing to gain relevance.”
The latest tensions follow the release of two detailed IAEA reports to member states ahead of the agency’s June 9 board meeting. As reported by FDD, the first IAEA report identified three sites, Lavisan-Shian, Varamin and Marivan, where Iran is believed to have conducted undeclared nuclear activities using nuclear material.
A fourth site, Turquzabad, was found to have held undeclared material or contaminated equipment as recently as 2018.
The IAEA concluded that the sites were part if an “undeclared structured nuclear program” active until the early 2000s.
The second report by the IAEA indicated that Iran has significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to 408.6 kilograms, enough, according to the estimates, to fuel 10 nuclear weapons, along with lower-enriched stockpiles that could be further refined to weapons-grade levels.
In the meantime, the U.S. and the E3 partners are moving forward with a resolution that could further complicate the ongoing diplomatic discussions.
In his recent phone call with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the ongoing nuclear talks and later emphasized the urgency of the matter in a post on Truth Social, stating that the “Time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!”
The U.S. President wrote that he reiterated the U.S. stance to Russia regarding Iran’s potential obtainment of nuclear weapons, stating, “I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement.”
The U.S. President also hinted that President Putin has shown willingness to mediate the U.S.-Iran talks. “President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion,” President Trump wrote.
Additionally, President Trump delivered his skepticism of the Iranian intensions in engaging in real and fruitful talks accusing Iran of “slowwalking their decision,” reaffirming the that time is of the essence and that Iran needs to quicken the pace and deliver an “answer in a very short period of time!”
According to FDD, Iranian negotiations may propose a temporary arrangement that would involve a pause in uranium enrichment in exchange for the unfreezing of Iranian funds. While this “political agreement” could serve as a precursor to a broader nuclear deal, the U.S. administration continues to insisted on zero enrichment, a position that Iran has repeatedly rejected.
