UN sanctions were reimposed on Iran on 28 September under the snapback mechanism initiated by the UK, France and Germany (the E3) the month before. The sanctions had been lifted in 2015 when Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), endorsed by Resolution 2231, with the P5+1 group of countries (the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany). Under the JCPOA, Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear development programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. The 10-year JCPOA was due to expire in October, meaning Iran would no longer be bound by it. The E3 action was intended to prevent this.
Attempts to stop the snapback recently failed when the 15-member Security Council failed to pass a resolution put forth by South Korea that would have avoided the reimposition of UN sanctions. The resolution received support from only four countries – China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria, while Guyana and South Korea abstained. Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, the UK and the US voted against.
Subsequently Russia and China tabled a Security Council draft resolution which sought to extend the JCPOA for six months until next April, as well as Council resolution 2231 that endorsed it in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the reimposition of sanctions. However, this was also rejected.
The E3 had been insisting the Iran should open up its nuclear facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and resume talks with the US, which in turn is demanding the Iran end its uranium enrichment activities and give up any enriched uranium stocks. Following the military strikes on its nuclear facilities in June by Israel and the US, Iran had passed a law banning the IAEA from visiting its nuclear sites arguing that the Agency had enabled the strikes by passing information to Israel and that it had refused to condemn the attacks.
On 23 September, in an address to the nation, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei categorically ruled out any negotiations with the US, denouncing Washington’s demands as “bullying” and a violation of Iranian sovereignty.
Both Russia and China have made it clear that they will not reimpose the UN sanctions. Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, rejected reactivation of the so-called snapback mechanism by the E3, calling it “null and void”.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said the re-imposition of UN sanctions is “unacceptable,” pointing out that Tehran had remained at the negotiating table “until the last moment” in pursuit of a fair solution. He reiterated that Iran has “never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and we do not”, a position rooted not only in official policy but in a religious fatwa and principles.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has reached a conclusion on a final plan for Iran’s withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in response to the European snapback initiative, but no decision has yet been taken by the legislature, a spokesman said.
Earlier, Iranian officials had made it clear that any reimposition of sanctions would end any possibility of re-establishing relations with the IAEA and would see an end to the negotiations which had been started with talks in Cairo. Some officials had also suggested that Iran should withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, although President Pezeshkian had denied that was a possibility.
However, Tasnim reported that the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission had decided on a draft plan for Iran’s withdrawal from the NPT in response to the snapback initiative, although no decision has yet been taken by the legislature.
Spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei stated that in reaction to the illegal triggering of the snapback mechanism, many Parliament members had proposed withdrawal from the NPT, with around 15 draft plans submitted. He clarified that although the commission has finalised one plan, it has not yet been placed on the Parliament’s agenda.
According to the proposed plan, if the snapback mechanism is activated, the Iranian government would be required to formally notify the IAEA Board of Governors of its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said.
He emphasised that under current circumstances, Iran has no reason to remain in the NPT. He argued that while the NPT and IAEA statutes obligate the agency to assist Iran in developing its nuclear industry and technology, this support has not been provided.
Iran has complied with extensive inspections to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme, but the IAEA failed to fulfil its obligations, creating conditions used as a pretext for attacks against Iran, he added. “We have seen no benefit from our NPT membership or cooperation with the IAEA and therefore do not see a reason to continue,” he said.
Regarding remarks by President Pezeshkian, as head of the Supreme National Security Council, that Iran will not leave the NPT, Rezaei stressed that the Parliament is independent.
“Withdrawal from the NPT requires national consensus. The representatives of the Iranian nation have gathered in the Parliament, not the government, and the president cannot impose his opinion on Parliament.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has warned that any moves made under the snapback mechanism will face a strong and reciprocal response from Tehran. “We declare that if any country takes action against Iran based on these illegally re-imposed resolutions, it will be met with a reciprocal response from Iran, and the three European countries behind this unlawful move will also see our reaction,” he told Parliament.
