FM: E3 move to unleash snapback sanctions erodes UNSC credibility
Iran’s foreign minister on Friday censured a decision by the European powers to trigger a mechanism reimposing international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, saying that the move will have “severe consequences for the credibility of the UN Security Council.”
“The path chosen by Europe, if not curbed, will additionally have severe consequences for the credibility of the UN Security Council. Invoking the so-called snapback mechanism without due process or a legal basis not only undermines confidence in the Council’s decisions, but also endangers international peace and security. It is high time for the Council—and the world—to step up and say: "ENOUGH",” Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
Britain, France and Germany — the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal — on Thursday invoked the process, known as the “snapback” mechanism, which initiates a 30-day deadline for reimposing sanctions lifted under the UN Resolution 2231 which endorses the 2015 nuclear deal.
Their move came after two rounds of talks between the two sides and weeks of warnings to Tehran over what they called Iran's continued non-compliance with its commitments under the nuclear agreement, which goes by the name of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran has repeatedly said that the European trio – known as the E3 – lacks all legal and moral authority to activate the mechanism as they failed to live up to their commitments under the JCPOA after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions against Iran.
The move took place just days after Iranian and European diplomats held talks in Geneva, the second since Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran on the eve of a sixth round of talks with the US.
“Iran was bombed. First by Israel, and then by the United States. It is repugnant for Europe to now accuse Iran of having left the table and spurning dialogue. The reality is that we are at a point where the West cannot even guarantee that it will cease further unlawful military strikes on my people while negotiations are held. that claimed the lives of nearly 1,100 Iranians,” Araghchi said.
“The actions of the European troika effectively reward the offender and punish the victim. It was the United States, not Iran, that unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. It was Europe, not Iran, that failed to fulfil its commitments to mitigate the economic impact of the US withdrawal. It was also Europe, not Iran, that not only failed to implement their commitments on Transition Day (Oct. 2023), but also imposed new illegal sanctions on Iranian civil aviation and shipping.”
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council on Thursday, Araghchi also called on the body’s members “to reject the unjustified political manipulations and to uphold the integrity of international law and authority of the Council.”
In an earlier phone call with his European counterparts, Araghchi said Tehran would respond "appropriately to this illegal and unjustified action ... in order to protect and guarantee its national rights and interests," according to a statement from his ministry.
He called on the three countries to "appropriately correct this wrong decision in the coming days."
Cooperation with IAEA
On Wednesday Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that if the snapback was triggered, "the path of interaction that we have now opened with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will also be completely affected and will probably stop."
He made the remarks following the return of IAEA inspectors to Iran to oversee fuel replacement operations at the key nuclear facility in Bushehr, in the country's southwest.
It was the first IAEA team to arrive since Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog over the agency's failure to condemn the Israeli and US strikes.
The Iranian foreign minister also sent a letter to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, calling the European move “invalid and ineffective.”
Araghchi stressed that Resolution 2231 “must expire according to its scheduled timeline on October 18, 2025.”
“Attempts by the E3 to revive UN Security Council resolutions that were terminated under Resolution 2231 are invalid and ineffective,” Araghchi wrote.
Diplomatic solution
Reaffirming Iran’s “readiness to resume fair and balanced diplomatic negotiations,” he urged the EU to avoid “selective interpretations” and work towards “genuine diplomacy and the preservation of multilateralism.”
On Friday, Kallas said the coming weeks offered an "opportunity" to hammer out a diplomatic solution on Iran's nuclear program.
"We are entering a new phase with this 30 days that is now giving us also the opportunity to really find diplomatic ways to find a solution," Kallas told journalists.
Russia, China reactions
Russia and China, both parties to the JCPOA, upbraided the E3 move, warning against the repercussions of imposing curbs on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
"We strongly urge them to reconsider and review their erroneous decisions before they lead to irreparable consequences and further tragedy," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The ministry also underlined that the European trio was undermining diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the stand-off over Iran's nuclear program.
Moreover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said a mechanism triggered by European countries that could reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran was "not constructive.”
"The Iranian nuclear issue is at a critical juncture. Launching the Security Council's snapback mechanism of sanctions is not constructive and will undermine the process of a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue," Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.