UK, France, Germany trigger snapback sanctions on Iran over nuclear programme

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany on Thursday initiated the reimposition of all United Nations (UN) sanctions on Iran that were lifted with the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal. They triggered sanctions after determining that Iran has violated the provisions of the 2015 nuclear deal.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, the UK, France, and Germany —the ‘E3’ nations— said that they “believe Iran to be in significant non-performance of its commitments” under the 2015 nuclear deal, according to AFP.

With the letter, the European powers initiated a 30-day process. If some last-ditch efforts don’t materialise into a deal in this period, all UNSC sanctions that were lifted with the 2015 deal —formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)— would be reimposed on Iran.

Iran has vowed to “respond appropriately” to the move. It has previously said that its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, would be compromised in case of sanctions’ reimposition.

After the war with Israel and the United States in June, which saw attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and elimination of most of its military leadership, observers said that Iran could make a dash to develop a nuclear weapon to deter such attacks as its conventional deterrence stood eroded. However, they also said that would be extremely difficult as Israel has complete domination over Iranian skies and any movement on the ground is bound to be detected and attacked.

Last 30 days for diplomacy?

Even as they triggered snapback sanctions, the E3 said they were willing to arrive at a diplomatic solution with Iran.

E3 foreign ministers said they were still open to discussing “our extension proposal, or on any serious diplomatic steps aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance” with the deal. They further said that Iran has “no civilian justification” for its high enriched uranium stockpile.

“The E3 leaders think that Iran has been for years in clear violation of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, with no concrete steps taken to remedy that situation,” a European diplomat told Axios.

The United States welcomed snapback sanctions but said that it was also ready for “direct” negotiations with Iran to resolve the issue.

Notably, Iran was holding talks with the United States when Israel launched the war on it in June.