By Obinna Uballa
Iran has recalled its ambassadors to the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for consultations, after the three European powers triggered the “snapback” mechanism that reinstates United Nations sanctions on Tehran for the first time in ten years.
“Following the irresponsible action of three European countries in abusing the JCPOA dispute resolution mechanism to reinstate repealed United Nations Security Council resolutions, the ambassadors of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have been summoned to Tehran,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state media on Saturday.
The move came a day after Russia and China failed to secure enough votes at the UN Security Council to delay the reimposition of sanctions. Only four members backed their draft resolution, while the United States, the UK, France, and several allies vetoed it.
The sanctions, set to take effect at 00:00 GMT on Sunday, will restore a global ban on cooperation with Iran in nuclear, military, banking, and shipping sectors. Already under heavy unilateral restrictions from United States and Europe, Iran’s rial tumbled to a record low of more than 1.1 million to the US dollar on Tehran’s open market on Saturday.
Western powers accuse Iran of failing to come clean on its nuclear programme, pointing to Tehran’s countermeasures after Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities during a 12-day conflict in June, which Iranian authorities say killed more than 1,000 people.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed inspections had resumed at some sites this week but did not clarify whether this included bombed facilities where material may be buried. Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, speaking in Moscow at the World Atomic Week forum, blasted the IAEA for refusing to condemn the strikes, reports said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the sanctions were politically motivated and not about nuclear transparency.
“If the goal had been to resolve concerns on the nuclear programme, we could easily do that,” he told reporters. “But Israel and the US are seeking to use this pressure to topple our system. Iran will never pursue nuclear weapons.”
He also accused Washington of pressing European capitals to reject Iranian proposals to defer snapback.
Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East, defended the decision. “We do not want to hurt Iran and are open to further talks,” he said Wednesday. “But snapback is the right medicine for what’s happening.”
Russia, China reject move
Russia has called the revival of sanctions illegal. Russian deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told reporters the measures were “null and void.” China also opposed the decision, though both powers were outvoted.
The UN sanctions had been lifted under the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), brokered by former US President Barack Obama. But Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018, launching a “maximum pressure” campaign that reimposed American restrictions and discouraged European trade with Tehran.
Israel pushes harder line
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a defiant speech at the UN on Friday, urged no delay in sanctions snapback and hinted Israel could again strike Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), marking the first anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination in Israeli air raids on Beirut, said “active and smart resistance” was the only viable response to Israeli “expansionism.”
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, attended commemorations in Lebanon, warning that Israel “shows mercy to no country.”
In Tehran, Iran’s judiciary announced that four Iranians had been sentenced for spying for Israel’s Mossad and the outlawed Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), with two receiving death sentences and two others life imprisonment.
