TEHRAN, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The three European countries of France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, as well as the European Union (EU) informed Iran on Thursday of their intention to reinstate sanctions on Tehran.
In a phone call, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that they planned to officially notify the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) of the start of the process to trigger the snapback mechanism, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
The "snapback" clause, part of a 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and world powers, allows the other parties to reimpose international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the deal.
According to the statement, the Europeans also voiced their readiness to find a diplomatic solution within the next 30 days to resolve the differences and prevent the return of the UNSC's sanction resolutions.
The Iranian foreign minister described the move as "unjustified, illegal and failing to have any legal basis," reminding them of Iran's "responsible and goodwill-based" performance in remaining committed to diplomacy for the resolution of nuclear issues.
Araghchi stressed that Iran would respond to the decision in an "appropriate" manner to safeguard its rights and national interests.
He highlighted Iran's seriousness in defending its interests and legal rights in accordance with international law and the Non-Proliferation Treaty, expressing hope that the E3 would appropriately "correct this wrong move" in the coming days.
U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on Thursday that France, Germany, and Britain had sent a letter earlier in the day to members of the UNSC, announcing they were triggering the snapback mechanism to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
The international sanctions on Iran had been suspended under the JCPOA. Iran signed the JCPOA with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress. ■
