Skip to main content

Snapback: The 30-day process has begun

On August 28, 2025, Britain, France and Germany initiated in the UN Security Council a 30-day ‘snapback mechanism’ process that can restore UN sanctions on Iran that were modified under JCPOA in 2015. All U.N. sanctions on Iran would be reimposed in 30 days unless the Security Council takes other action. [UNSC/RES/2231, paras 36, 37] Here is where matters stand on August 28, 2025. 

At the request of the E3, the Security Council is to meet behind closed doors on August 29, 2025, to discuss the snapback move. [Reuters] 
The UN Security Council, in accordance with its procedures, shall vote on a resolution to continue the sanctions lifting  within 30 days. [JCPOA, para 37]  What the applicable procedures are for that vote are not crystal clear.
 
Possible extension: Iran and the E3 have held several rounds of talks aiming to agree to defer the snapback mechanism. 
Russia and China have circulated a draft resolution to the Security Council that would extend the nuclear deal until April 18, 2026. Their text includes language that would block the E3 from reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran.
 
Russia and China positions: 
 • Germany, France, and Britain have not followed the dispute resolution process in the JCPOA. [JCPOA paras 36,37] The E3 disagree. 
 • Germany, France, and Britain do not have legal standing to trigger a snapback of U.N. sanctions because they have not met their own obligations under the JCPOA.
 
Iran position: If the provisions of previous UNSC resolutions are applied [through the snapback mechanism] in whole or in part, Iran will treat this as grounds to cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA [UNSC/RES/2231 para 13; JCPOA para 37]. Iran has threatened to respond, including by withdrawing from the NPT.
 
Interim agreement: A possible way to stabilize the situation while extending the snapback mechanism, thereby reducing the risk of further military action and creating time for negotiation of a new nuclear deal. Such an agreement should address Iran’s legitimate concerns about further military attacks by solidifying the ending of the 12-day war and recognizing Iran’s NPT right to a peaceful nuclear program under IAEA safeguards [Davenport ACA Aug 28].

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘New war with Israel at any moment’, ‘still digging through rubble’

The news about Iran has taken an ominous tone in the last couple days. Here is some reporting and commentary.  Newsweek on August 18, 2025, reported that Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said ‘ We are not in a ceasefire; we are in a stage of war. No protocol, regulation, or agreement has been written between us and the U.S. or Israel. A new war with Israel could break out at any moment .’  Yonah Jeremy Bob commented in The Jerusalem Post on August 19, 2025, that ‘ Khamenei can either “drink from the poisoned chalice” of diplomatic concessions … or face more airstrikes, possibly next time some targeting him directly ’.   Bob also noted that ‘ right now Iran is still digging through rubbl e’. The U.S. attacked Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan on June 22. Two months of digging. No surprise that there has been no public news about that.
Post a Comment
Read more

U.S. Sanctions, Middle East views

Trump’s special envoy Witkoff has hit the capitals again; in Tel Aviv Netanyahu probably told him to tell Trump that he will take over all of Gaza; in Moscow Putin probably told him to tell Trump that Ukraine will be destroyed and forget the sanctions. Witkoff didn’t get to number 3 on his list, Iran. But Trump played another ‘ getting to a deal ’ with Iran card, adding sanctions he can later get credit for removing. And the Middle East commentators are worriedly reacting to the Iran situation. Here are some highlights.  From Newsweek:       The U.S. announced on July 30 the largest Iran-related sanctions since 2018 , targeting entities and vessels linked to the country's petroleum sector: 20 oil firms, 5 vessel management companies, 1 wholesaler, and over 115 individuals in 17 countries and regions, including the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, India, the UAE and Hong Kong.       U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said: "Today's Depar...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Quit the nuclear deal”

The E3 (Britan, France, Germany) upped their ante with a letter to the UN Security Council on August 12, 2025, that included: ‘ if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism ’. (AP, Aug 13, 2025)  So far, we have an Iranian response from Parliament member Manouchehr Mottaki — who was Iran’s top diplomat for five years in the 2000s — saying the Iranian parliament has a “ finger on the trigger ” for quitting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. “ We only need 24 hours to approve quitting the nuclear deal, ” if the E3 raises the issue at the U.N. Security Council, Mottaki said. (AP, Aug 13, 2025)  On ‘extension’, following July’s meeting in Istanbul [between E3 and Iran], an E3 diplomat said Iran could delay [snapback] by doing two things [1] renewing cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA and [2] addressing concerns about its highly enriche...
Post a Comment
Read more