Iran failed to meet E3 conditions but the ball remains in its camp – Reuters

The parades, traditionally held during Defense Week beginning on September 22, come this year in the aftermath of 12-day war with Israel in June that dealt the Islamic Republic one of its biggest ever military blows.

“Special programs this year will differ from previous years,” news outlet Tabnak cited Major General Soleiman Kamyabi, Deputy Chief of Human Resources for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, as saying.

Kamyabi said that honoring the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the eight-year Iran-Iraq War and “the 12-day imposed war” remains central to the commemorations.

Kurdistan province was the first to announce the cancellation of its parade. “No military parade will be held in Kurdistan this year,” Tasnim News quoted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Brigadier General Jamshid Rezaei as saying.

Instead, the IRGC will hold ceremonies to honor veterans, whom Rezaei credited for providing Iran’s “current security and stability.”

In Hamedan province in Western Iran, the IRGC made the same announcement, citing “emerging threats” and a desire to avoid large gatherings.

“Due to emerging threats, we will refrain from large gatherings and focus on defense readiness,” Khabar Online quoted Hossein Zare Kamali, the IRGC commander in Hamedan, as saying.

The cancellations highlight Iran’s military jitters amid heightened regional tensions, as Israeli military and civilian leaders have repeatedly said their armed quarrel with Iran may not be over.

During the June conflict, Israeli strikes killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israelis.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday there is little time left for Iran to reach a deal with European powers to delay the return of UN sanctions.

Kallas said it is "hard to tell" when asked about the chances of a deal.

"I stand ready for all the talks and also diplomatic solution. It's clear that there has to be an agreement in the end that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. That is a worry that all the countries also around Iran and wider space have," Kallas said.

"I'm really willing to explore the ways to find a diplomatic solution and it's true that the snapback has been triggered and we have limited time to come to a conclusion," she added.

Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi said the reimposition of UN sanctions under the snapback mechanism would accelerate hardship for ordinary Iranians, blaming Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for bringing the country to “the brink.”

“Khamenei and his corrupt regime have never cared—and still don’t care—about the fate of Iran or its people,” Pahlavi said on Monday.

“This evil regime has plunged our Iran into darkness,” he added.

He accused the leadership of squandering “thousands of billions of dollars” on nuclear ambitions and its allied groups in the region while depriving Iranians of water, electricity, and bread.

An Iranian lawmaker dismissed the return of UN sanctions on Tehran triggered through the so-called snapback mechanism by three European countries as an empty threat.

“The snapback (mechanism) is more like pointing a Kalashnikov without a cartridge case at people to scare them, while there are no bullets in it,” Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani, a member of Iran’s parliament said on Monday.

“There is no sanction left that the enemy has not already imposed on Iran,” he added.

Abbas Araghchi, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, said he plans to meet the UN nuclear watchdog later today and will also hold meetings with three European counterparts to discuss the looming reimposition of UN sanctions they triggered last month.

“At different times, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been tested, and they know we do not respond to the language of pressure and threats," Araghchi was quoted by official media as saying. "Rather, we respond in the language of respect and dignity. If there is a solution, it is only a diplomatic one.”

Araghchi said consultations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom are ongoing, and noted that the United States is also involved “directly or indirectly,” without elaborating.

Two months of fruitless Iran-US talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program culminated in a surprise Israeli military campaign against Iran in June which was capped off by US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

Following the attacks, Tehran suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. How to resume diplomacy and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections now remains a bone of contention between Iran and the West.

“We have emphasized our readiness for a diplomatic solution on the snapback mechanism, but one that secures Iran’s interests and addresses our security concerns,” Araghchi said. He warned Iran would take "the measures it must” if diplomacy fails.

UN sanctions on Iran, triggered through the so-called snapback mechanism by three European countries on August 28, are set to resume on September 28 after the UN Security Council rejected a resolution to keep the sanctions lifted in a 4–9 vote on September 19.

The sanctions would include an arms embargo, asset freezes and nuclear restrictions.

'Difficult juncture'

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, also in New York, told AFP the current situation with Iran is at a “difficult juncture.”

“It’s obviously quite a difficult juncture. It’s a very difficult situation we are facing right now,” Grossi said, adding that a series of talks are scheduled while all parties are gathered at the UN.

Iran and the IAEA signed a technical agreement in Cairo on September 9, mediated by Egypt, to make progress toward resuming nuclear inspections halted in June.

Tehran has warned that the deal will be void if new attacks or sanctions occur, though it views the agreement as a step toward de-escalation.