E3 nations move to reimpose UN nuclear sanctions on Iran

Dubai, August 28

France, Germany and the United Kingdom (E3 nations) started a process on Thursday to reimpose United Nations’ sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, further isolating Tehran after its 12-day war with Israel saw its atomic sites repeatedly bombed.

The mechanism, termed “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the UN and is likely to go into effect.

It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.

The European move starts a 30-day clock for the sanctions to return, a period that likely will see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors started the crisis. The UN General Assembly in September will also likely see Iran as a top focus.

France and Germany’s foreign ministers suggested they viewed “snapback” as a way to spur negotiations with Tehran.

“This measure does not signal the end of diplomacy: we are determined to make the most of the 30-day period that is now opening to engage in dialogue with Iran,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on the social platform X.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement that he decried the move as “unjustified, illegal, and lacking any legal basis” in a call with his European counterparts.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will respond appropriately to this unlawful and unwarranted measure,” he said, without elaborating.

The three European nations warned on August 8 that Iran could trigger snapback when it halted inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency after Israeli strikes at the start of the two countries’ 12-day war in June. Israeli attacks then killed Tehran’s top military leaders and saw Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei go into hiding.