Iranian diplomats call snapback ‘politically motivated’, say E3 follows US policies

Senior Iranian diplomats have dismissed European efforts to trigger the UN sanctions snapback mechanism as politically motivated and biased, noting that the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal are following the US lead.

The remarks come as the UN Security Council prepares to vote on whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Britain, France, and Germany have pushed for the so-called snapback mechanism to be activated, accusing Iran of failing to honor its commitments.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected the European move, noting that the three governments are misusing the process.

“What Europeans are doing is politically biased and politically motivated. They are wrong on different levels by trying to misuse the mechanism embedded in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” he told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Under the JCPOA’s dispute resolution process, any party that claims non-compliance by Iran can seek the reinstatement of six earlier Security Council resolutions, adopted between 2006 and 2010.

Iran argues that the Europeans cannot invoke the mechanism because they were the first to violate the deal, refusing to compensate for the US withdrawal in 2018. Tehran says it only reduced its nuclear commitments in response to that breach.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier called for diplomacy, saying he had laid out a “reasonable and actionable” plan to the Europeans aimed at preventing an “unnecessary and avoidable crisis.”

Iran's foreign minister urges UN Security Council to choose diplomacy over confrontation

Iran

He voiced frustration that instead of engaging with the substance of the proposal, the three European capitals offered excuses, including the suggestion that the Iranian Foreign Ministry does not represent the entire political establishment.

“I am pleased that President Macron has recognized the reasonableness of my proposal. However, he and the international community should be aware that I have the full backing of all bodies within the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Supreme National Security Council,” Araghchi said. He described Iran’s plan as “creative, fair, and balanced,” and insisted its adoption could resolve disputes quickly and avert escalation.

Araghchi urged the UN Security Council to “choose diplomacy over confrontation” and cautioned that reimposing sanctions lacked any “legal or logical basis.” He warned his European counterparts that triggering the snapback would undermine diplomacy and unnecessarily raise tensions.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli television on Thursday that he expected international sanctions to be reinstated by the end of the month.

‘E3 fully dependent on US’

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also slammed the European push. “We are facing some countries that behave in a completely political and excessive way,” he told the state TV on Friday.

Gharibabadi referred to Iran’s new cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), signed on September 9. He recalled that European governments had previously called for Tehran to work with the UN watchdog, yet were now disregarding the agreement. “These are countries fully dependent on the United States, without any independence of their own,” he added.

“Iran is under the most unjust and extensive unilateral sanctions. The sanctions that were imposed under Security Council resolutions cannot be compared with the unilateral ones,” he noted.

He stressed that Iran had shown readiness to face “any scenario” and would adjust its behavior and policies according to those of its counterparts.

The agreement with the IAEA followed a suspension of cooperation after Israeli-American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. That suspension had been mandated by the Iranian Parliament in protest at an anti-Iran resolution passed by the agency’s Board of Governors, which the Israeli regime used as a pretext to launch its US-backed aggression against Iran.

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