In a note to the Security Council, Russia’s permanent mission to the UN said any attempt to restore the Council’s previous sanctions resolutions would be “illegitimate,” “ineffective,” “without legal basis,” and “harmful” to ongoing diplomatic processes.
The statement stressed that, under Security Council Resolution 2231 and the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the snapback mechanism can only be used if the requesting party, as a JCPOA participant, has fully followed the dispute-resolution procedures outlined in Articles 36 and 37 of the deal.
Moscow argued that the three European states have not completed these steps. It also accused them of breaching the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 themselves, particularly after the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018.
Regarding Europe’s threat to trigger the snapback mechanism, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that, in Iran’s view, due to their non-compliance with the JCPOA and their positions—such as insisting on “zero enrichment” despite the JCPOA’s recognition of Iran’s right to enrichment—they lack the standing to invoke any provision of the agreement, including the snapback mechanism.
