JCPOA ‘Snapback’ Mechanism a US Trap for EU

EghtesadOnline: The United States has set up a trap for European parties to the Iran nuclear deal by pushing to trigger the agreement's dispute resolution mechanism that could lead to the restoration of United Nations’ sanctions on Iran, a foreign policy expert said.

News ID: ۷۴۹۴۱۲

11 January 2020

With the US "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran failing to produce the intended results, Washington’s latest strategy is to push France, Britain and Germany into triggering the dispute resolution mechanism, hoping that the move will culminate in the termination of the international accord and a so-called “snapback” of global sanctions on Tehran, Hassan Beheshtipour also said in a recent talk with IRNA.

“Snapback” means the reimposition of all UN sanctions against Iran, including an arms embargo and travel bans on specific Iranian officials, which are due to expire in October 2020, according to Financial Tribune.

Hailing the 2015 nuclear agreement as one of the international community’s greatest diplomatic achievements in modern history, Beheshtipour said, "The Europeans are aware that the risks of triggering the dispute mechanism outweigh the benefits. Diplomacy has not hit a dead-end yet and they [European powers] can pressure the US into finding diplomatic solutions."

In response to the EU inaction on the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and their failure to make up for the sweeping US sanctions, Iran gradually scaled back its nuclear commitments.

Iran took its final step on Sunday and abandoned all limitations on enriching uranium.

The foreign policy expert reminded that Iran was fully adhering to the provisions of the accord and Europe’s failure to meet its obligations has entitled Tehran to reduce its commitments. He was referring to the JCPOA article that allows one party to reduce its commitments once another party is deemed out of compliance.

European powers are yet to announce their official response to Iran’s reversible final step in reducing commitment to the deal, with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas saying they will negotiate with France and Britain "on how we respond to that this week".

China and Russia

On the two non-European parties to JCPOA, Beheshtipour said, "China and Russia will remain on our side until we abide by the nuclear deal, cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency [under Iran’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA] and comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty."

According to the expert, any measure that could be interpreted as non-compliance with the three aforesaid agreements would prompt Russia and China to join the European powers in triggering the dispute resolution mechanism.

"If we abide by the nuclear deal, China and Russia will stay on our side. In terms of economic cooperation, we are continuing trade as much as possible under the circumstances, and when it comes to diplomacy, they can block UN Security Council resolutions on sanctioning Iran," he said.

Beheshtipour concluded by saying that due to Iran's commitment toward the nuclear deal, military collaborations with China and Russia, which led to the recent three-day trilateral naval drill aimed at promoting regional security, are strong.