Iran and Russia have stepped up coordination as European powers threaten to trigger the reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran, officials said on Friday, days before an end-August deadline to activate the snapback mechanism.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed the issue in a phone call late Friday, according to a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry.
The ministers rejected what they called the legal and moral authority of France, Britain and Germany – the so-called E3 – to use the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear accord.
“The European states, given their repeated violations of the JCPOA and alignment with US actions against Iran’s nuclear facilities, have neither the legal nor the moral authority to activate this mechanism,” Araghchi said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers.
Russia’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, issued a similar warning earlier this week, saying the E3 were themselves in breach of Resolution 2231 and therefore could not legitimately trigger the snapback clause.
Writing on social media, he invoked principles of good faith in international law, arguing that a party violating obligations cannot simultaneously invoke rights under the same accord.
The “snapback” provision, embedded in Resolution 2231, allows any JCPOA signatory to restore pre-deal UN sanctions without a new vote if Iran is deemed non-compliant. Such a move would reinstate global arms embargoes, missile restrictions and other measures lifted in 2015.
European officials have warned that unless Iran resumes nuclear talks promptly and offers concrete concessions, they may act before the end of August.
Axios and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that recent discussions between Iran and the E3 made no progress, with diplomats describing a combative call in which Araghchi questioned the Europeans’ right to invoke snapback.
Iran has rejected European proposals to extend the deadline, insisting the resolution should expire as scheduled on October 18.
“We had an agreement that was supposed to be completed within 10 years; it’s not meant to be extended repeatedly. This is just rule-twisting, and we do not accept it,” former parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Friday.
China has also submitted a note to the UN Security Council opposing the measure, warning that reviving sanctions would risk “catastrophic and unpredictable” consequences. Beijing blamed the current deadlock on US and European non-compliance with the JCPOA rather than Iran’s actions.
Araghchi has acknowledged that snapback could inflict heavy economic damage but said it would not mark “the end of everything,” adding that Tehran has held preventive consultations with Russia and China.
“Diplomacy remains on the table if Iran’s rights and interests are respected,” he told state media.
Talks between Iran and the E3 are due to resume in Vienna on Tuesday at the level of deputy foreign ministers.
