Set aside automatically: Russia is against the return of sanctions against Iran
The legitimacy of the "eurotroika" to restore all sanctions against Iran has been lost, Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian delegation in Vienna, told Izvestia. Earlier, France, Germany and the United Kingdom gave Tehran until the end of August to conclude a new nuclear deal. The next negotiations between the parties will be held on July 27 in Geneva. Forceful pressure on the Islamic Republic will only worsen the situation and may lead to a new conflict, experts warn. Russia is ready to play a mediating role between Iran and the United States after the escalation. Whether there are still prospects for concluding a nuclear deal is in the Izvestia article.
Can all sanctions against Iran be restored
Eurotroika has lost the right to resume international sanctions against Iran, Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, told Izvestia. This is due to the fact that Britain, Germany and France have repeatedly violated the terms of the nuclear deal.
Earlier, the media reported that if Iran does not agree to a new agreement, all sanctions against it will be restored. To do this, use the "snapback" procedure provided for by the UN Security Council. It allows for the automatic restoration of international restrictions against Tehran if it violates the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
— As for the threats of Westerners to initiate a mechanism for restoring sanctions, it is quite rightly noted that this idea is illegitimate. The Americans themselves withdrew from the JCPOA, renouncing the rights and obligations of a participant in the nuclear deal, and the United Kingdom, Germany and France are violators of both the JCPOA and UN Security Council resolution 2231. This means that they have also deprived themselves of the right to initiate a "snapback," Mikhail Ulyanov said.
Eurotroika has already sent the same threats to Tehran, for example, during the Biden administration in 2022-2023, Farhad Ibragimov, an orientalist and lecturer at the RUDN University Faculty of Economics, recalled in a conversation with Izvestia.
At the same time, on July 16, the representative of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, said that the countries participating in the JCPOA had not notified the world organization of their intention to launch a mechanism to restore sanctions against Iran. Thus, for now, such threats from Europe remain at the level of words. It is likely that this is an attempt to play on Iran's fears and scare the elite with the return of sanctions, orientalist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. He recalled that the government of Masoud Peseshkian came to power precisely with a program of reintegration into the global economy and the lifting of restrictions.
Despite the fact that some sources write that the "snapback" procedure implies an "instant return" to sanctions, the launch process itself takes about 30 days, Tsukanov explained.
— The rush of the European powers is due to the desire to fully introduce the mechanism until the moment when Russia takes over the presidency of the Security Council, that is, until October 2025. In this case, the Eurotroika proceeds from the fact that its actions are legitimate, since the United States withdrew from the deal unilaterally in 2018, and Iran has significantly reduced its obligations over the past few years," the expert stressed.
Eurotroika promises not to impose sanctions if Tehran removes about 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60% from the country, and also agrees to resume monitoring by the IAEA, which Iran has suspended, writes Axios. When the initial Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was concluded, Moscow and Tehran agreed to export to Russia low-enriched uranium produced in Iran with a volume of more than 300 kg, Mikhail Ulyanov recalled. He did not rule out that in the future the Russian Federation may return to this idea again.
"In principle, I see no reason why such a scheme could not continue to be implemented if it would help resolve differences between Tehran and the Westerners over the Iranian nuclear program," the diplomat said.
Despite the verbal threats, European countries have partially taken action. On July 15, the EU Council expanded the list of sanctions "for serious violations of human rights in the world" and added eight individuals and one organization from Iran to it. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bagai called the new restrictions "destructive and baseless," and the accusations "ridiculous."
At the same time, Iran will still hold negotiations on the nuclear program with the Eurotroika. They are scheduled to take place on July 27 in Geneva, Sky News Arabia reported on July 20, citing sources. Earlier in the day, Tasnim news agency reported on the Islamic Republic's plans to resume negotiations with Eurotroika. It was clarified that the parties had agreed on the principles of consultations.
In 2015, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, France and Iran signed a nuclear deal. It assumed the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limiting Tehran's nuclear program.
In 2018, Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the imposition of sanctions. However, upon returning to the White House, he announced plans to restore the nuclear deal — on June 22, Washington used force and attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Russia's role in resolving the nuclear deal issue
Russia agrees to mediate between Iran and the United States to resolve the issue surrounding the nuclear deal at the request of both sides, Mikhail Ulyanov said.
— Of course, we are ready to help resolve the problems surrounding the Iranian nuclear program through political and diplomatic means. We have been following this line for many years now, and it has repeatedly brought positive results. We are ready to play a mediating role now, if both contracting parties request it," the diplomat said.
He added that the topic of Iran's nuclear program is regularly discussed by phone by the leaders of Russia and the United States and, most likely, this practice will continue. The last time Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed this topic was during a phone call on July 3. After that, Axios reported that Putin supported a new nuclear deal without Iran's right to enrich uranium. The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately called this publication fake and an example of a "dirty politicized campaign."
Recently, the idea has also been circulating in the information space that Western countries could turn to Russia for guarantees that Iran would not work on developing nuclear weapons, Mikhail Ulyanov noted. However, according to him, it will be extremely difficult to implement.
— I don't know anything about such appeals. It is quite difficult to imagine how this idea can be put into practice. Nevertheless, such guarantees should be provided by Iran, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose mandate includes verifying the use of atomic energy exclusively for peaceful purposes," the diplomat added.
In the near future, Eurotroika, together with the United States, plans to convince Tehran that it can avoid sanctions if it proves the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, Axios writes. Mikhail Ulyanov stressed that such tactics of forceful pressure have no chance of success.
— The habit of Europeans and Americans to set certain deadlines all the time is quite counterproductive. At one time, it also played a negative role in the fact that the previous attempt to restore the JCPOA through negotiations in 2021-2022 did not allow reaching concrete agreements, although the process had already reached the finish line, Ulyanov noted.
Tehran also stressed that the pressure would not bring results. Even before the American strikes on nuclear facilities, Iran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, told Izvestia that the country's leadership would not resume negotiations on the nuclear deal if the White House continued this tactic.
"As long as the United States talks to us in the language of threats and pressure, there can be no talk of negotiations," the diplomat stressed.
On July 1, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that in order to return to the nuclear deal, the United States must guarantee the non-use of military force against Tehran.
And the ultimatum of the Eurotroika and further threats from Washington may lead to Iran withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and becoming actively engaged in its nuclear program, Farhad Ibrahimov believes.
According to the expert, the armed conflict between Iran and Israel involving the United States in June 2025 became a watershed for Tehran before and after.
"Now the Iranians still think that nuclear weapons are more likely to benefit Iran than harm it,— he said.
At the same time, on July 18, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Simone Halperin said that the country could launch a new military operation against Iran if it returns to its nuclear program.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
