Iran’s foreign minister meets with UN nuclear watchdog in bid to avert sanctions

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, is under huge domestic pressure, with rival Iranian factions waging a ceaseless political battle over the country’s approach to the west. Photograph: Khaled Elfiqi/AP

Iran’s foreign minister has met the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog at the start of a frantic round of diplomatic meetings in New York in a bid to avert the reimposition of a wave of UN sanctions on Iran starting on Sunday.

The crisis could rapidly spiral into fresh Israeli calls to attack Iran for failing to cooperate over its nuclear programme. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned on Monday: “We must destroy the axis of evil Iran and we have the power to do so. This is what lies ahead of us in the coming year, a year that could be a historic one for Israel’s security.”