A letter signed by the Chinese, Russian and Iranian foreign
ministers said a move by Britain, France and Germany to automatically restore
the sanctions under a so-called "snapback mechanism" was
"legally and procedurally flawed".
China and Russia were signatories to Iran's 2015 nuclear
deal with world powers, along with the three European countries, known as the
E3. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in his
first term in 2018.
The Europeans launched the "snapback
mechanism" last week, accusing Iran of violating the deal, which had
provided relief from international financial sanctions in return for curbs to
Iran's nuclear program.
The letter
published by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X on Monday
said that the course taken by Britain, France, and Germany "abuses the
authority and functions of the UN Security Council".
Iran has long since broken through the limits on uranium
production set under the 2015 deal, arguing that it is justified in doing so as
a consequence of Washington having pulled out of the agreement. The deal
expires in October this year, and the snapback mechanism would allow sanctions
that were lifted under it to take effect again.
Iran and the E3 held talks aimed at a new nuclear agreement
after Israel and the US bombed Iran's nuclear installations in
mid-June. But the E3 deemed that talks in Geneva last week did not yield
sufficient signals of readiness for a new deal from Iran.
"Our
joint letter with my colleagues, the foreign ministers of China and Russia,
signed in Tianjin, reflects the firm position that the European attempt to
invoke snapback is legally baseless and politically destructive", Iran's
foreign minister said in his post on X.
