Europe’s major countries have reinstated arms embargoes and other sanctions on Iran after the expiration of the “snapback mechanism” for sanctions initiated last month. The United Nations Security Council resumed these measures on Saturday, September 27.
The UK, France, and Germany had started the snapback mechanism at the UN Security Council a month ago, accusing Iran of violating the 2015 agreement aimed at preventing its development of nuclear weapons.
From 2006 to 2010, the UN Security Council passed resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran. These measures went back into effect at 8 PM Eastern Time on Saturday.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany urged Iran and all countries to fully comply with these sanctions resolutions.
Tehran has threatened retaliatory measures against these sanctions. However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated on Friday that Iran has no intention of withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Tehran announced on Saturday the recall of ambassadors to the UK, France, and Germany for consultations.
The European powers had proposed a six-month delay in reinstating the sanctions to allow for negotiations on a long-term agreement, contingent on Iran restoring UN inspectors’ verification rights, addressing concerns about its enriched uranium stockpile, and engaging in dialogue with the US.
The foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany stated in the joint declaration that countries will continue seeking to resolve issues through diplomacy and negotiation. They emphasized that the resumption of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomatic efforts and urged Iran to avoid any escalatory actions and resume compliance with its legally binding nuclear safeguard obligations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement following the UN’s reinstatement of sanctions. He said that President Trump has made it clear that diplomatic avenues remain a viable option and that reaching an agreement is the best outcome for the Iranian people and the world.
Rubio stressed that to achieve this goal, Iran must engage in sincere direct dialogue without delay or confusion.
Since President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term in 2018, the re-imposition of severe US sanctions has severely damaged Iran’s economy.
As a result of the new sanctions, the Iranian rial has continued to decline, falling to a historic low of 1,123,000 rials to 1 US dollar on Saturday, a significant depreciation from 1,085,000 rials to 1 US dollar on Friday.
With the reinstatement of UN sanctions, Iran will once again face arms embargoes, be prohibited from all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, as well as any actions related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, including launches.
The re-imposed sanctions also include travel bans on dozens of Iranian individuals, freezing assets of several Iranian individuals and entities, and prohibiting the supply of any items that could be used in Iran’s nuclear program.
Moreover, all countries are authorized to seize and dispose of any items prohibited by the UN sanctions, and Iran will also be barred from participating in any commercial activities involving uranium mining, nuclear material, and technology production or use in other countries.