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China, Russia join Iran in rejecting E3's 'legally baseless' snapback move: Araghchi

Iran Press TV

Monday, 01 September 2025 5:57 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he, together with his Russian and Chinese counterparts, has sent a letter to the United Nations rejecting as "legally baseless" and "politically destructive" a recent move by Britain, France, and Germany to reinstate international sanctions against Iran.

Abbas Araghchi made the announcement in a post on X on Monday, four days after the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal notified the UN Security Council that they had invoked the so-called snapback mechanism to restore all UN sanctions against Iran.

He said, in their joint letter addressed to the UN chief and the Security Council president, Iran, Russia, and China declared the Europeans' activation of snapback sanctions "null and void."

He also noted that the letter highlighted the US's violation of the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and Europe's subsequent alignment with unlawful sanctions against Iran instead of honoring its own commitments.

"The primary function of the Security Council is to act on behalf of the international community to maintain peace and security," he added. "What the E3 proposes betrays this mission, turning the Council into an instrument of coercion rather than a guardian of global stability."

The top Iranian diplomat also attached to his post the letter, which says the snapback activation by the three European countries contravenes Resolution 2231 and is "legally and procedurally flawed".

"The E3's course abuses the authority and functions of the UN Security Council while misleading its members and the international community concerning the root causes of breakdown in the implementation of the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231," it read, calling on the European trio to change their "destructive course".

The JCPOA required Iran to scale back some of its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.

However, the US ditched the deal in 2018 before returning the illegal sanctions that it had lifted against Iran and launching the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign.

Following the US withdrawal, the European signatories to the JCPOA failed to uphold their commitments and made no efforts to save the agreement.

Now, the Europeans have given the Security Council 30 days to decide whether it would continue sanctions relief against Iran or allow it to lapse.