TEHRAN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Europe fails to have any moral and legal ground for triggering the snapback mechanism that would automatically reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran.
In a post on social media platform X, Araghchi said he made this point during a teleconference held Thursday night with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Britain -- collectively known as the E3 -- as well as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
He stressed that it was the United States, not Iran, that withdrew from the EU-brokered 2015 nuclear deal and walked away from negotiations in June, choosing military action instead.
Araghchi added that any new round of nuclear talks with Iran would only be possible "when the other side is ready for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear deal."
Araghchi emphasized that the EU and E3 should "put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snapback,' for which they lack absolutely no moral and legal ground."
The snapback mechanism is a clause in a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers that would allow the other parties to re-impose all international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.
Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2015 with six countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to gradually reduce compliance with its nuclear commitments.
Efforts to revive the agreement resumed earlier this year through indirect talks between Iran and the United States. But negotiations stalled in mid-June following a sharp escalation in regional tensions, when Israel launched major airstrikes on several targets in Iran. The strikes triggered a 12-day conflict between the two countries, with the United States later joining in, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites. ■
