Russia has condemned the threats of Britain, France and Germany, urging the trio to spark a snapback of sanctions against Iran as “irresponsible and ‘illegal’ rhetoric, and to focus their efforts on finding solutions to the situation they have created themselves.
A snapback mechanism based on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), can restore UN sanctions on Iran if the contract is breached.
However, in 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and implemented a “maximum pressure” policy on the Islamic Republic, with no other parties (UK, France, Germany, Russia and China) able to secure Iran’s interests under the agreement.
Iran had waited a year after the US withdrawal as three European powers had promised to offset the effects of US sanctions, but those efforts failed and began reducing nuclear obligations in the expected remedies within the JCPOA.
During a session with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Governor’s Committee on Tuesday, Mikhail Ulyanov, the permanent representative of Russia’s Vienna international organizations, said he was in violation of his obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, its Annex B, and JCPOA.
“We have brought attention to the threats of Britain, Germany and France to use ‘snapbacks’. We consider this kind of rhetoric not only irresponsible, but also illegal,” Urinov said.
“In this regard, I would encourage Berlin, London and Paris to stop succumbing to the Phantom’s pain over snapback and focus their efforts on finding political and diplomatic methods from the circumstances they have created,” he added.
Meanwhile, Carl Hallegard, the European Union ambassador for Vienna’s international organizations, said in a session on Tuesday that the EU remains committed to diplomatic solutions to address the issues surrounding the implementation of the JCPOA.
Halegaard accused Iran of increasing the risk of a nuclear proliferation crisis in the region, claiming that the country has “significantly” departed from the JCPOA commitment, without mentioning violations of the transaction by other parties.
He also called on Iran to effectively engage with the IAEA without further delay, expressing support for the efforts of IAEA Director Rafael Grossi, “to achieve the necessary cooperation to pursue constructive involvement with Iran and to pursue constructive involvement with Iran to address issues that need to be resolved urgently.”
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