TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday dismissed a move by France, Britain and Germany to reinstate United Nations sanctions on Tehran, saying it lacked "international legitimacy," state news agency IRNA reported.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian criticized the European powers' decision last month to trigger the "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The UN Security Council last week failed to adopt a resolution to extend sanctions relief for Iran, clearing the way for sanctions to return later this month.
Pezeshkian said the Europeans had "failed to honor their commitments over the past decade" and were now acting "under Washington's pressure and coercion." He accused them of seeking to "destroy" the JCPOA, which he noted they once hailed as "the biggest achievement of multilateral diplomacy."
He reiterated that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and would not do so, citing a religious decree by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran signed the JCPOA in 2015 with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Tehran to scale back its commitments. ■
