Iranian and European ministers scheduled nuclear talks in New York for Tuesday, September 23rd. This follows the UN Security Council voting to reimpose sanctions over the issue of Tehran’s atomic program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has until the end of Saturday, September 27th, to reach a deal with his British, French, German and European Union counterparts to avoid the reinstatement of UN sanctions, which had been suspended under a deal signed in 2015.
On the one hand, European countries and the U.S. suspect Iran of seeking to acquire the atomic bomb. Tehran has vigorously denied that, insisting it has a right to civilian nuclear energy. On the other hand, the Iranian leadership accuses the European powers of exerting political pressure that undermines negotiations.
However, the talks also come at a moment when Iran is facing mounting international condemnation over an unprecedented wave of executions. As if to illustrate the true nature of the regime, according to the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR), more than 1,000 people have already been put to death in 2025, the highest figure since records began, including at least 64 hangings in the past week alone.
With more than three months of 2025 still to go, the figure is already the highest since IHR began keeping records in 2008, topping the 975 executions recorded last year.
Regarding Iran’s upcoming nuclear talks in New York, IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam declared
Any dialogue between countries committed to the foundations of human rights and the Islamic republic that does not include the execution crisis in Iran is unacceptable.
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