The foreign ministers of Iran, China, and Russia have written a joint letter rejecting the three European countries’ move to trigger the “snapback mechanism” that would restore United Nations sanctions against Tehran, IRNA reports. The letter, addressed to the UN secretary general and the president of the UN Security Council (UNSC), calls on the Council to consider Europe’s move null and void.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday announced on his X account that he and his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, signed the joint letter in Tianjin, China, where they had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
The joint letter comes after the E3 – namely Britain, France, and Germany, which are members of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – informed the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (August 28) that they had triggered the “snapback” mechanism that would restore UN sanctions lifted under the JCPOA, citing what they called non-compliance by Iran.
The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 during the first term of President Donald Trump. Iran began reciprocal measures a year later, after the European parties to the deal failed to compensate for the US pullout.
The joint letter by the Iranian, Russian, and Chinese top diplomats explains that the E3 measure lacks any legal basis because it is contrary to the procedures set out in the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 that endorsed it.
“The action by the foreign ministers of the three European countries (E3) is clearly inconsistent with the above resolution and is therefore inherently flawed both legally and procedurally. The path pursued by the E3 misuses the authority and functions of the UN Security Council, while simultaneously misleading its members and the international community regarding the root causes of the disruption in the implementation of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231,” according to the letter, parts of which were released on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.
The letter also states that the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and Europe’s failure to mitigate its consequences bar any use of the dispute resolution mechanism against Iran. It stresses that, under international law, the European countries, having committed material breaches, cannot claim the rights or mechanisms of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231.
“Iran’s reciprocal measures, including the suspension of its JCPOA commitments, were taken specifically in response to the US withdrawal and its total violation of its obligations under the JCPOA, and only after a sustained period of Iran’s continued compliance and the failure of the E3/EU in remedying the situation,” said the letter.
“The reciprocal steps taken by Iran cannot serve as a basis for activating the ‘snapback’ mechanism. It is unacceptable that this mechanism be abused to reward the US withdrawal and the subsequent non-compliance of the E3/EU with their commitments, including those outlined in the statement issued following the Joint Commission meeting of 25 May 2018.”
The letter emphasized that the JCPOA is integral to Resolution 2231, and the E3 cannot appeal to the Security Council without completing the agreement’s dispute resolution process. Since the E3 failed to do so, their correspondence cannot be considered a valid notification under paragraph 11 of Resolution 2231. Re-imposing annulled Security Council sanctions is illogical and unreasonable, as the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran’s compliance with its JCPOA commitments, said the letter.
In light of these reasons, the Iranian, Russian, and Chinese foreign ministers said “the Security Council cannot act on the basis of the letter submitted by the E3 and must consider it null and void. Any step or measure taken in disregard, or in violation, of Resolution 2231 cannot create binding international legal obligations for UN Member States,” according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Iran, China, and Russia urged Security Council members to reject the E3’s notification, reaffirm commitment to the principles of international law and multilateral diplomacy, while advising the E3 to avoid actions undermining the Security Council’s unity. They asked the UN secretary-general to circulate the joint letter as an official document.
