TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Iran on Thursday affirmed its commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, as it accused Germany of “malice” over its criticism of Tehran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

“Iran remains committed to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) and its Safeguards Agreement,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.

“The explicit German support for the bombing of Iran has obliterated the notion that the German regime harbors anything but malice towards Iranians,” he added in response to a German foreign office post criticising the move.

On Wednesday, Iran officially suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

In a post on X, Germany’s foreign office called on Iran to “reverse this decision,” saying it sends a “devastating message.” “It eliminates any possibility of international oversight of the Iranian nuclear programme, which is crucial for a diplomatic solution,” it added.

Araghchi lambasted what he called Germany’s “explicit support for Israel’s unlawful attack on Iran” on June 13, killing top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists.

On June 17, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Israel was doing the “dirty work… for all of us” by targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The 12-day war between Iran and Israel saw it, along with the United States, launching unprecedented strikes Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.

More than 900 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to the judiciary.

US sanctions

The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.

A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said.

“Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regimes access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilising activities, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports over its nuclear programme and funding of groups across the Middle East.

Thursday’s sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites, including its most deeply buried enrichment plant Fordow.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran’s nuclear programme by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public.

The US and Iran are expected to hold talks about its nuclear programme next week in Oslo, Axios reported.

Said’s companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions, Treasury said.

Said controls UAE-based company VS Tankers, though he avoids formal association with it, Treasury said. Formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), VS Tankers has smuggled oil for the benefit of the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organisation, it said.

The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them. VS Tankers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran’s mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US also sanctioned several vessels that are accused of engaging in the covert delivery of Iranian oil, intensifying pressure on Iran’s shadow fleet, it said.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2025