All states must enforce UN sanctions on Iran, E3 ministers say
All United Nations member states must reapply sanctions after their reinstatement under the snapback mechanism, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement.
“We urge all UN member states to implement these sanctions,” the ministers said. “The outcome of the Security Council vote was an unambiguous no,” they added, noting that the Council rejected a resolution to maintain sanctions relief.
Their action, the ministers said, was driven by Iran’s refusal to comply with the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Iran has no credible civilian justification whatsoever for its HEU stockpile,” they said, citing ten significant quantities of highly enriched uranium now held outside IAEA monitoring.
Triggering the mechanism was a last resort after years of failed diplomacy, the E3 ministers added.
“Despite these long-standing violations, the E3 have continuously made every effort to avoid triggering snapback... Instead, Iran chose to reject offers and expand its nuclear activities in clear breach of its commitments.”
While pressing for enforcement, the E3 also emphasized diplomacy remains possible.
“The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy. We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action.”
