Snapback sanctions will bring pressure, Iran minister says
Snapback sanctions will create difficulties for Iran, but the government has prepared responses, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh said on Saturday.
“Conditions after the activation of the snapback mechanism will be difficult, but we have appropriate responses.”
The reimposed UN resolutions will have consequences, she added.
“I cannot say the snapback mechanism will have no effect and certainly these six resolutions will have effects, but the Islamic Republic has been bearing maximum sanctions for years.”
The human rights situation in Iran has worsened sharply since the June attacks by the United States and Israel and the Islamic Republic’s response, according to a new United Nations report to be formally presented in New York on October 30.
Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, wrote that the situation is “deeply troubling” and “profoundly affected by the devastating military escalation and its aftermath” in the first half of 2025.
“While the military escalation between States ceased on 24 June, its end has not brought relief to the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who continue to face systematic repression,” according to the report.
The attacks, which targeted nuclear facilities, residential areas and Evin prison, killed more than 1,100 people and injured over 5,600, with between 40 and 60 per cent of deaths estimated to be civilian, the report said.
The strikes also killed 14 Iranian nuclear scientists and destroyed medical centers, worsening shortages and leaving vulnerable populations without care, according to the report.
The response of Iranian authorities was also criticized. Tehran’s actions included “scapegoating of ethnic and religious minorities, the mass deportations of vulnerable Afghan nationals and the introduction of draconian legislation that further criminalizes legitimate civil rights activities,” the report added.
On women’s rights, the report pointed to systemic impunity in cases of gender-based killings, noting that at least 108 femicides were documented.
“The legal framework of the Islamic Republic of Iran violates the right to life by providing protections for perpetrators of gender-based killings through discriminatory provisions.”
Executions also continued at what the report called an “alarming pace,” with more than 700 people put to death between January and July, including 98 Baloch, 42 Kurds and 45 Afghans.
Sato urged Iran to “establish a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to its complete abolition” and to end corporal punishments including amputation and flogging. She also recommended international support for exiled activists and Afghan refugees.
Media and online outlets will face action if their reporting on the reimposition of UN sanctions disrupts public morale, Iran's prosecutor general’s office said in a statement carried by Mizan News Agency on Saturday.
"Some websites and channels produced sensitive content about rising prices shortly after the Security Council vote," Mizan added.
"Such reporting could disturb the psychological security of society and would be met with legal measures," the prosecutor’s office said.
The judiciary has repeatedly pursued cases against journalists, outlets, and citizens for comments on sensitive political and economic issues in recent years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency was aligned with Israel’s military action by failing to condemn attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization told Sputnik.
Not condemning Israel’s attacks on our nuclear facilities means coordinating with the military assault, said Eslami. The Agency, the Security Council and the Board of Governors are part of the military attack. he added.
His remarks were published by Iranian media citing Sputnik’s coverage of his comments in Moscow.
Iran’s currency market suffered a sharp drop after the collapse of nuclear talks with European powers and the UN Security Council’s rejection of a Russian-Chinese draft resolution to delay sanctions.
The US dollar hit a historic high of 1,120,000 rials on Saturday in open trading, according to local reports.
Economists warned that activation of the snapback mechanism could drive further short-term panic, with tether in unofficial markets also reaching record levels.
The Islamic Republic does not seek conflict but would respond forcefully to aggression, said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with NBC on Friday.
“We’re not afraid of war. We do not seek war,” he told NBC’s Tom Llamas. “President Trump has said that his administration has come to create peace, but the path that they have embarked upon will set fire to the entire region.”
Iran would never initiate a conflict but would give “the strongest answer” to any attack, Pezeshkian said.
Tehran continues to build its defense capabilities to deter adversaries, he added.
On nuclear issues, he rejected suggestions that Iran is developing weapons, pointing to the Supreme Leader’s fatwa against weapons of mass destruction.
He said inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were welcome to visit sites in Iran, dismissing reliance on satellite images as insufficient.
Iran has resumed construction at an underground mountain site following US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities, with satellite imagery and analysts indicating the work may reflect efforts to rebuild its damaged nuclear program.
The president also commented on domestic unrest, saying Iranians “have a right to choose” in response to questions about the enforcement of hijab laws. He acknowledged mishandling of Mahsa Amini’s case but accused outside observers of exaggerating Iran’s record while ignoring civilian deaths in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Syria.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ruled out direct talks with the US on missiles and uranium enrichment.
The president also referred to an injury he sustained during Israeli strikes in June’s 12-day war, saying doctors drained fluid from his knee and that the wound was minor.
