France, Germany and UK begin process of reimposing UN sanctions on Iran over nuclear program

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom have begun the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The triggering of the snapback sanctions comes as diplomatic efforts to restrain Iran’s growing nuclear program have faltered. Tehran has warned there could be consequences for the move.

The “E3” countries notified the UN Security Council Thursday that they were triggering the snapback mechanism, which was included as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Iran has increasingly breached the nuclear deal after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), in 2018.

“Today, Iran’s non-compliance with the JCPoA is clear and deliberate, and sites of major proliferation concern in Iran are outside of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) monitoring,” the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK said in a joint statement on Thursday. “Iran has no civilian justification for its high enriched uranium stockpile.”

“Its nuclear programme therefore remains a clear threat to international peace and security,” the statement added.

The process takes 30 days, giving Tehran a window to take action to stop the reimposition of the sanctions. The ability to trigger the snapback sanctions expires in October 2025, which prompted the E3 to do so now.

“It’s not a decision that has been taken at all lightly,” a British official said Thursday.

The official said the E3 made the decision due to Iran’s “significant noncompliance” with the 2015 deal, its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, and what they described as a lack of “sufficient response on the Iranian side” to reach a diplomatic agreement.

Still, Europeans have expressed hope that Tehran will engage diplomatically in the 30 days.

“We don’t think it’s the end of diplomacy, and we remain committed to a negotiated solution,” the official said.

In the European countries’ joint statement, the foreign ministers emphasized that the measures for sanctions and other restrictive measures “are not new.” The measures were previously agreed upon by the UN Security Council and “lifted in light of Iran’s commitments under the JCPoA,” according to the statement.

“However, Iran has chosen not to abide by those commitments,” the joint statement added.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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