Russian Envoy Deplores EU3’s Plan to Activate Snapback Mechanism
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The permanent representative of Russia to the international organizations in Vienna questioned the logic of the European troika’s decision to invoke the snapback mechanism of the JCPOA, warning that the move will complicate matters further.
“If Snapback happens tomorrow, the situation around the Iranian nuclear programme will become much more complicated, to put it very gently. What for? Very difficult, practically impossible to understand the logic of E3. There is no indication that they have an exit strategy,” Mikhail Ulyanov said in a post on his X account on Wednesday night.
In another post, the Russian envoy hailed Iran as a responsible member of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“IAEA activities in Iran resumed at Busher nuclear power plant. Once again Tehran proved to be a responsible partner of the Agency even now, after outrageous military attacks on Iranian peaceful nuclear facilities under the IAEA safeguards,” he said.
The snapback mechanism, embedded in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allows participants in the nuclear agreement to restore the UN sanctions against Iran in case of what they claim to be “significant non-performance” by Tehran.
Iran insists that the United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, forfeited its right to trigger the mechanism, while the European trio have also lost standing after years of failing to honor their own commitments under the accord.
Tehran has repeatedly argued that the invocation of snapback by parties that are themselves in breach of the JCPOA lacks any legal foundation and would constitute a grave violation of international law.
