TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that he put forward a “fair and balanced” nuclear proposal to European powers to prevent the return of United Nations (UN) sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Iran is “introducing a creative, fair, and balanced proposal which addresses genuine concerns and is mutually beneficial,” Araghchi said on X.

He added that the proposal was made on Thursday to Britain, France and Germany — known collectively as the E3 — as well as the European Union.

“Turning this idea into action can be prompt and resolve the respective bottom lines to avert a crisis,” Araghchi said, arguing that “Iran cannot be the sole responsible actor.”

The comments were made as the United Nations (UN) Security Council was set to vote Friday on reimposing biting economic sanctions on Tehran over its contested nuclear program.

Diplomatic sources expect that Iran does not have the nine votes needed to maintain the status quo and prevent the punitive measures from being reimposed by the end of the month.

The E3, signatories to a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement that lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, claim Tehran has reneged on its commitments under the deal.

The accord was intended to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a goal that Western powers and Iran’s arch-enemy Israel have long accused it of harboring, but which it has consistently denied.

Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the deal has been hanging by a thread ever since the United States withdrew from it in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

The withdrawal prompted Iran in 2019 to begin rolling back on its own commitments, including limiting access to its facilities by inspectors from the UN’s nuclear watchdog.