Sweeping UN economic and military sanctions have been reimposed on Iran, a decade after they were first lifted under a landmark nuclear accord.
The renewed restrictions took effect after the UK, France, and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism, accusing Tehran of “continued nuclear escalation” and failing to cooperate with international oversight.
Iran suspended inspections of its nuclear facilities—an obligation under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—following US and Israeli air strikes on several nuclear sites and military bases in June.
President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted last week that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. He denounced the reimposed sanctions as “unfair, unjust, and illegal.”
The JCPOA was designed to cap Iran’s uranium stockpiles, research, and nuclear installations, allowing only civilian nuclear development. But Tehran began expanding banned activities after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2016, calling it flawed and vowing to negotiate tougher terms.
The US and Israeli strikes earlier this year were intended to roll back Iran’s nuclear progress and punish its support for regional groups hostile to Israel. While Trump claimed the bombings inflicted “monumental damage,” analysts questioned how much they had slowed Tehran’s programme.
Iran responded by declaring the strikes had “fundamentally changed the situation” and rendered the JCPOA “obsolete.” Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies showed damage at Fordo, one of the targeted nuclear sites.
Despite the snapback sanctions, the European partners to the deal said they still hope diplomacy can ease tensions. “The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy,” they stressed in a joint statement, urging Iran to “refrain from any escalatory action.”
Talks held with Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week failed to reach an agreement that might have delayed the sanctions. The three foreign ministers said they had “no choice” but to act, citing repeated Iranian breaches and its refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA confirmed that inspections had resumed on Friday, after being halted in June. But the E3 countries noted that Tehran had yet to provide a full account of its enriched uranium stockpile or restore full access for inspectors.
Iran, in turn, dismissed the sanctions as “illegal” and warned of a “firm and appropriate response” to any measures undermining its sovereignty. While Pezeshkian stepped back from earlier threats to quit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he cautioned that the return of sanctions endangered negotiations.
He also rejected a US offer to suspend sanctions for three months in exchange for Iran surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile, calling it “a trap” that would leave Tehran with “a noose around our neck each month.”
Western governments and the IAEA remain unconvinced by Iran’s repeated assertions that its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.
Source: BBC
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