Delghani stated in a statement to the American channel “Fox News” on Friday that the parliament will begin discussing the bill next week after completing its legal process. He confirmed that this move comes as a direct response to the European troika, consisting of Germany, Britain, and France, activating the snapback mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran. The Iranian parliamentary official added that withdrawing from the treaty represents “the simplest initial response” from Tehran, noting that the parliament intends to take other steps described as “deterrent and painful” towards the countries that pushed for the reimposition of sanctions.
For his part, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ganbari stated in an interview with Iranian state television that any attempt to reimpose sanctions through Resolution 2231 “will not affect Iran’s trade dealings,” pointing out that his country will take all necessary measures to thwart them. Ganbari described the sanctions imposed on his country as “illegal” from the beginning, considering that most of them have lost their impact on individuals and companies. He strongly criticized the European stance, noting that the European countries that described the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement as illegal “are now repeating the same behavior.”
He added, “We do not say that the snapback mechanism is without impact, as any sanction is significant, but it should not be exaggerated.” Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that the foreign ministers of France, Britain, and Germany, along with the EU foreign policy chief, had a phone conversation with him during which they informed him of their intention to activate the snapback mechanism. A statement from Iran’s Foreign Ministry explained that the European ministers told “our Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone conversation an hour ago, of their intention to inform the UN Security Council formally of launching the mechanism to reimpose sanctions on Tehran under the nuclear agreement provisions.”
According to the statement, the ministers affirmed their readiness to work within the next thirty days to find a diplomatic solution preventing the return of previous Security Council resolutions. In the same context, the Panama mission, which presides over the UN Security Council this month, announced that the European troika submitted an official letter requesting the activation of the snapback mechanism against Iran.
In a parallel development, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that his country “is still ready for direct dialogue with Iran to resolve disputes over its nuclear file,” pointing out that reimposing sanctions “does not conflict with the continuation of diplomatic efforts but rather enhances them.” He added, “The United States is still committed to direct communication with Iran to reach a peaceful and lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. I urge Iranian leaders to immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that their country does not possess a nuclear weapon and to follow the path of peace, thereby enhancing prosperity for the Iranian people.”
The “snapback mechanism” refers to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and the “5+1” group, which allowed for the lifting of international sanctions in exchange for restricting the Iranian nuclear program. This mechanism stipulates that if Iran breaches its commitments, any party to the agreement can reimpose UN sanctions within a short period. After the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018, during the first term of US President Donald Trump, the debate intensified over the legitimacy of continuing to operate this mechanism, while Tehran believes that it lost its legal validity after that withdrawal.
