Snapback shows the only way is resistance, Iranian lawmaker says
An Iranian lawmaker lashed out at Western powers after the reimposition of UN sanctions, framing the move as part of a wider campaign to weaken the country.
“The US and three European states have illegally reimposed sanctions. For years they have shown enmity through sanctions and war. Their aim is Iran’s surrender and disintegration. The only path forward is resistance and strength,” said Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of parliament, in response to the snapback triggered by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
His remarks came after Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it would suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if sanctions are revived.
An Iranian lawmaker on Saturday called for the Islamic Republic’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and development of a nuclear weapon in response to the imminent snapback of UN sanctions.
"If we are to be sanctioned again by the United Nations over the false accusation of seeking nuclear weapons, why should we be deprived of possessing them in this lawless jungle where brute force is the only rule?!” said Mohammad-Mannan Raeisi, deputy head of the parliament’s Construction Commission.
He added: “Iran’s continued presence in the NPT, while once again being sanctioned by the United Nations over the false accusation of nuclear weapons, is the worst of both worlds.”
The UN Security Council’s decision not to lift sanctions on Iran has heightened the stakes for Tehran, with hardliners pushing for nuclear escalation, reformists urging engagement, and a public already strained by inflation.
Hardliners and ultra-hardliners in Tehran, who have long dismissed the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) as a “total failure,” downplayed the impact of the UN’s decision and called for withdrawal from the NPT.
Meanwhile, reformists are calling for urgent diplomacy.
Cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog will be suspended if European states push ahead with reinstating United Nations sanctions, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said on Saturday.
The council, in a meeting chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, concluded that despite months of engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, “the path of collaboration will in practice be suspended" following the Europeans' push for reinstating UN sanctions on Iran, state media reported.
The foreign ministry was also tasked with continuing diplomatic outreach in line with the Council’s decisions.
On September 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed an agreement in Cairo that set out procedures for inspections, notifications, and reporting obligations.
However, Araghchi said at the time that the agreement would be scrapped if European powers proceed with reimposing UN sanctions on Iran through the so-called "snapback" mechanism.
President Pezeshkian in remarks made on Saturday rejected what he described as Western pressure over the country's nuclear program.
“They have decided to bring back the snapback (sanctions),” he said. “They can close the paths, but minds and ideas will build new ones. They can strike Natanz and Fordow, but people will create Natanz and even more important than Natanz. They cannot stop us.”
The UN Security Council on Friday rejected a South Korean-sponsored draft resolution that sought to permanently lift sanctions suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal. With that proposal defeated, all international sanctions are due to automatically snap back into place on September 28.
Iran’s currency weakened further on Saturday after the UN Security Council's vote. The dollar, which opened the day around 1,013,000 rials on the free market, rose above 1,035,000 by midday and later reached 1,036,700, according to local exchange trackers.
Two prisoners died in Iranian jails this week after being denied medical treatment, while a third inmate — a political prisoner recently transferred to a hospital — remains in critical condition.
Jamileh Azizi, a financial crimes inmate at Gharchak prison near Tehran, died Friday evening after weeks of ignored pleas for hospital transfer, according to information obtained by Iran International.
“Azizi repeatedly requested medical care in recent weeks and was dismissed by prison authorities each time,” a source familiar with her case said.
“She finally showed symptoms of a stroke but was told by the prison clinic she had no problem. She died hours later inside prison.”
Her death was caused by deprivation of medical treatment, the Iran Human Rights Society wrote, noting that her bail had been secured and she was due for release. Her relatives directly blamed prison officials for her death.
Mohammad Manghali, also jailed for financial crimes in Yazd, died after suffering breathing difficulties and being accused of faking his illness, the human rights group HRANA reported Friday.
“The prison doctor dismissed his symptoms as malingering and he was left untreated,” a source close to his family told HRANA.
Political prisoner in critical condition
Human rights groups reported worsening health for political prisoner Somayeh Rashidi, 42, who was moved from prison to hospital on September 16. Doctors have told her family they see little chance of recovery.
Rashidi’s level of consciousness has dropped to five, with physicians warning that if it falls to three she will not survive.
Prison authorities withheld essential medical care for Rashidi for months despite her critical condition, Iran International previously reported.
She was arrested in April while writing slogans in a southern Tehran district and later transferred to Gharchak prison after Israel’s June 23 attack on Evin prison. Fellow inmates have said she was beaten during her arrest and denied treatment for her injuries.
“Prison and clinic officials give inmates random medication without specialist diagnosis just to silence them. In many cases this causes severe complications and even death,” a former prisoner told Iran International.
Earlier this month Iran International reported the death of Maryam Shahraki, held in a prison in Karaj, after misdiagnosis and denial of urgent transfer following chest pains.
“Safeguarding the lives of political and general prisoners, stopping executions, and releasing those in need of medical care is the first step toward real change in this country,” political prisoner Ahmadreza Haeri wrote from Ghezel Hesar prison earlier this month.
Last year, Haeri and two other detainees accused prosecutors of pursuing “systematic murder” by denying treatment.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a Saturday meeting chaired by President Pezeshkian, concluded that the Europeans’ push to reinstate UN sanctions on Iran "will in practice lead to a suspension of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog," the state TV said.
The foreign ministry was also tasked with continuing diplomatic outreach in line with the Council’s decisions.
On September 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed an agreement in Cairo that set out procedures for inspections, notifications, and reporting obligations.
However, Araghchi said at the time that the agreement would be scrapped if European powers proceed with reimposing UN sanctions on Iran through the so-called "snapback" mechanism.
