Iran Warns UN Against US-E3 ‘Snapback’ Claims, Says No Sanctions Have Been Restored

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected recent claims by the United States and the E3—the United Kingdom, France, and Germany—that previously terminated UN Security Council sanctions on Tehran have been reinstated through the so-called “snapback” mechanism, calling the assertions “unfounded, unlawful and invalid”.

In a letter addressed to foreign ministers across the world, Araghchi said no legitimate legal process had taken place to justify the restoration of sanctions, describing the move as “an attempt to mislead the international community and impose unilateral political agendas under the guise of UN authority”.

“To claim otherwise,” he wrote, “is to undermine the integrity of the Security Council and threaten the very foundation of multilateral diplomacy”.

The Iranian top diplomat stressed that Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal [JCPOA], terminated all prior sanctions and established a clear timeline for their permanent expiration on 18 October 2025. He said no country has the unilateral authority to reinterpret or extend its provisions.

Araghchi noted that the United States, having withdrawn from the JCPOA in 2018, and the E3, being in “substantial non-performance” of their own commitments, are “absolutely devoid of eligibility” to invoke the resolution.

He accused Washington and its European allies of attempting a “unilateral rewriting of international law,” warning that such acts erode global trust in the Security Council and the binding nature of its decisions.

“Iran categorically rejects these unlawful claims,” Araghchi asserted. “Neither Iran nor any other UN member state has any legal obligation to comply with this fabricated notion of restored sanctions.”

The minister urged all governments to reject and resist these claims, refrain from implementing them, and defend multilateralism against what he called “narrow political manipulation”.

He cautioned that allowing such “unlawful claims” to stand would gravely compromise the authority of the Security Council and the legitimacy of international agreements.

Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s readiness for diplomacy, but emphasized that Tehran will firmly defend its sovereign rights and legitimate interests.

Under the 2015 JCPOA, Iran agreed to confidence-building limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of UN, US and EU sanctions. The agreement, endorsed by Resolution 2231, outlined the October 2025 expiration of nuclear-related restrictions.

However, after the US withdrawal in 2018 and the reimposition of sweeping sanctions, Iran gradually reduced its compliance—a move it described as lawful under the JCPOA’s dispute provisions.

The E3 have since tried to prevent the 2025 expiration by invoking the deal’s dispute mechanism, which could pave the way for renewed UN sanctions. Tehran maintains that, since the Western parties failed to honor their own obligations, they lack any legal standing to trigger the mechanism.

Russia, China, and several other countries have backed Iran’s position, declaring they do not recognize any claim of restored sanctions and continue to support Resolution 2231 as the sole valid legal framework governing Iran’s nuclear file.