Iran, China, Russia reject E3's snapback move

"Our joint letter with my colleagues, the Foreign Ministers of China and Russia, signed in Tianjin reflects the firm position that the European attempt to invoke “snapback” is legally baseless and politically destructive. By declaring the E3’s move null and void, we have placed on record that no party can erase the sequence of events: it was the United States that first violated the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, and it was Europe that subsequently chose to align with unlawful sanctions instead of honoring its own commitments. These undeniable facts must frame any serious discussion at the Security Council," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.

"We have also reaffirmed a fundamental principle of international law: rights and obligations cannot be separated. States that fail to fulfill their own commitments cannot claim the benefits of an agreement they have undermined. The credibility of multilateral diplomacy depends on this logic. What is at stake is not only Iran’s rights but the integrity of international agreements themselves. If selective compliance and procedural abuse are tolerated, the very foundation of collective security will be fatally weakened."

The primary function of the Security Council is to act on behalf of the international community to maintain peace and security. What the E3 proposes betrays this mission, turning the Council into an instrument of coercion rather than a guardian of global stability. The urgent task before us is to restore international law and build upon it to give diplomacy the ground it needs to succeed./mehr