Mr. President,
I would like to join pother delegations in expressing our sincere gratitude to Under Secretary General di Carlo, Ambassador Frazier and Ambassador Stavridis for their comprehensive briefings.

Our goal is clear: to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a goal, we believe, is shared by all in the room.
Germany remains firmly committed to remove through diplomacy existing doubts about the exclusively civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Since 2018, we have worked tirelessly to uphold our JCPoA commitments following the US withdrawal and Iranian non-compliance.
But this task is getting more difficult. With every step of Iran, we are moving further away from the JCPoA.
Iran’s nuclear activities have become completely inconsistent with UNSCR 2231 and Iran’s obligations under the JCPoA.
In doing so, Iran is undermining international security, as well as global non-proliferation norms.

When we met in this chamber one year ago, Iran had expanded its enriched uranium stockpile to 21 times the JCPoA limit.
Half a year ago, it was 22 times.
Today, the enriched uranium stockpile exceeds the JCPoA limit more than 30 times.
According to the IAEA, Iran’s stockpile of uranium, enriched up to 60 %, is now likely to be more than three times the amount of fissile material needed to build a nuclear explosive device.
These facts stand for themselves and reveal the path of escalation Tehran has embarked on.
In addition, Iran is producing highly enriched uranium in the underground facility at Fordow, in clear violation of its JCPoA commitment that there should be no enrichment at Fordow.
Recent IAEA reporting indicates that Iran is further increasing this site’s capacity, thus escalating further.

Equally disturbing is Iran’s lack of cooperation with the IAEA. This seriously restricts the Agency’s ability to assess the real nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
This is not only a serious blow to transparency, but strongly diminishes the possibilty of reaching an agreement in the future. The international community is well aware of Iran’s blatant violations of its JCPoA commitments.
We share the mutual concern about Iran’s lack of compliance with its core nonproliferation commitments and obligations.

The safeguards resolution which the E3 brought to the vote during the IAEA Board of Governors’ quarterly meeting in Vienna, just two weeks ago, called on Iran to urgently adhere to its NPT obligations.
The resolution was adopted with the distinct result of 20 yes and 2 no.
This vote impressively underlines how far Iran has isolated itself with its conduct.

Mr. President,
Referring to what the E3 recently stated in Vienna, we urge Iran
o to immediately halt its nuclear escalation;
o to return to the limits imposed by the JCPoA, in particular those regarding centrifuge production, enrichment, and the enriched uranium stockpile;
o to implement the commitments it made regarding transparency; including re-applying all transparency measures that were stopped in February 2021;
o to re-implement and swiftly ratify the Additional Protocol;
and
o to immediately and fully cooperate with the IAEA, including by reversing its September 2023 decision to withdraw the designations of experienced Agency inspectors.

In spite of Iran’s track record, the E3 have consistently advocated for a diplomatic solution.
We have negotiated in good faith, trying to reach a deal during many rounds of negotiations in Vienna.
Unfortunately, the last proposal we put on the table back in August 2022 was rejected by Iran after months of talks.

Iran’s actions since then, in particular installing thousands of advanced centrifuges
and enriching uranium to unprecedented levels, raise legitimate doubts about Iran’s genuine interest to return to negotiations.
We are determined to use any window of opportunity for renewed negotiations,
Negotiations aimed at addressing the serious international concerns about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
We stand ready to negotiate and we are eager to see Iran re-engage in good faith to that end.
Thank you, Mr. President.