In high-level talks in Geneva on August 26, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom repeated the warning they sent to Iran on August 8: “We are equally ready, and have unambiguous legal grounds, to notify the significant non-performance of [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] commitments by Iran as foreseen under UNSCR 2231 (2015), thereby triggering the snapback mechanism, should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August.” The threat of reimposing UN sanctions that were suspended a decade ago by the JCPOA has taken on great political and symbolic importance to Tehran of late. Rarely a day goes by without prominent Iranian politicians fulminating against “snapback.”. The volume of Tehran’s noisy opposition is strategically curious given Europe’s evident determination to press ahead with this measure, suggesting that the regime is belaboring the point in order to publicly justify a move it already wanted to make—namely, reducing cooperation with international nuclear inspectors and suspending or even withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In any event, what impact would triggering the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism actually have on Iran’s economy and nuclear activities?
Will Renewed UN Sanctions Bring Iran Back to the Table? | The Washington Institute
