The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the decision by Britain, Germany, and France to launch a process that could reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
China has also expressed its opposition to the move, saying it is “not constructive” and will undermine the process of a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.
“We strongly condemn these actions by European countries and call on the international community to reject them,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that blamed the United States and the Europeans for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular media briefing on Friday that 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.
The three European countries, known as the E3, launched the so-called “snapback mechanism” on Thursday over accusations that Iran has violated a 2015 deal that aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapons capability in return for the lifting of international sanctions.
The move opens a 30-day window during which a new UN resolution to continue sanctions relief must be adopted to prevent penalties from being reimposed.
Iran earlier decried the move, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying it was “unjustified” 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.
Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move by the European countries will “gravely undermine” its ongoing cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog agency.
France, Germany, and the UK’s ambassadors to the UN said on Friday that, in order to avoid sanctions, Iran should restore access for UN nuclear inspectors, address concerns about enriched uranium stocks, and begin talks with the US. But Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the E3’s requirements were “full of unrealistic preconditions”.
The Iranian parliament is planning legislation that would take the country out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in response to the European move.
Iranian MP Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani told the Tasnim news agency that the parliament is planning legislation that would take the country out of the NPT in response to the European move.
“The draft law is on the agenda and will undergo the legal review and approval process next week,” the MP told the agency, adding that given the possible reimplementation of UN sanctions, further nuclear negotiations with the West would no longer make sense.
The only option, he said, would be to completely sever ties with the European trio. Iran says it needs nuclear energy for power, but the West has long feared it is trying to build an atomic bomb.
US President Donald Trump, who unilaterally took the US out of the 2015 deal in his first term, said he believed it was not sufficiently curtailing Iranian nuclear ambitions.
The situation is complex, and the international community is watching closely to see how Iran will respond to the European move. The Iranian government has already threatened to take action, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in the coming days and weeks.
The move by the European countries has been met with criticism from Russia and China, who have expressed their opposition to the snapback mechanism. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the decision, saying it is “unconstructive” and will only serve to escalate tensions.
The Chinese government has also expressed its opposition to the move, saying it will undermine the process of a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that the snapback mechanism is “not constructive” and will only serve to create more problems.
The European countries, on the other hand, argue that the snapback mechanism is necessary to ensure that Iran complies with its commitments under the 2015 deal.
They say that Iran has violated the terms of the agreement and that the snapback mechanism is necessary to bring Iran back into compliance.
The situation is complex, and it remains to be seen how the international community will respond to the European move. One thing is certain, however: the situation will continue to unfold in the coming days and weeks, and the international community will be watching closely to see how Iran responds to the snapback mechanism.