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Tehran says invoking snapback will complicate nuclear standoff
Reimposing international sanctions on Iran would make the situation over its nuclear program more complex, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday.
The Iranian official made the remarks during a briefing meeting with representatives from more than 110 UN member states in New York on Monday.
The Iranian official was speaking ahead of a meeting on Friday with three European states known as the E3 – Britain, France and Germany.
The E3 said that if no progress is reached by the end of August over Iran's nuclear program, they will invoke a "snapback" mechanism – a process that would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 deal.
"We will express our position regarding the E3's comments on the snapback mechanism, which we think lacks any legal ground," Gharibabadi said, referring to Friday's meeting in Istanbul.
"Nonetheless, our effort will be to see if we can find common solutions to manage the situation."
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal – from which the United States withdrew in 2018.
"It has been seven years that the nuclear deal is not being implemented by the Europeans following the US departure from it. How can they argue that Iran is not following the deal when they themselves have not done so?" Gharibabadi added.
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its nuclear program is solely meant for civilian purposes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his European counterparts Friday they have no grounds for reactivating UN sanctions.
"If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they (have) absolutely no moral (or) legal grounds," Araghchi said on X.
The remarks came after Araghchi held a conference call with his British, French and German counterparts and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.