Iran accuses Europe of acting as US-Israel proxy in sanctions push
Story by Susan Mbamah
Iran says recent reports confirm that three European states, under US and Israeli pressure, have triggered the snapback mechanism aimed at reimposing UN Security Council sanctions on Tehran.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that Iran remains in close coordination with Russia and China, which oppose the European bid to revive sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“We share a common stance that the European Union and these three European countries, for reasons previously mentioned and others, lack the legal competence to invoke the dispute resolution mechanism, which in essence means reviving revoked Security Council resolutions,” Baghaei said, referring to a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Iran, China, and Russia.
READ ALSO: China, Russia stand with Iran to block European push for UN sanctions snapback
He added that any technical extension of UN Security Council resolution 2231 “is a matter for the UN Security Council to deliberate, as that body holds the sole authority.”
Baghaei denounced the European effort to reinstate sanctions as “irresponsible, illogical, and devoid of legal basis.”
On a US proposal for direct talks, Baghaei stressed that Tehran cannot discuss future relations with Washington without addressing its record of hostile actions.
“Principally, regarding the United States, we must consider the fact that during negotiations, we were confronted with aggression from the Zionist regime in coordination with the US.
Certainly, the future cannot be discussed without accounting for past experiences,” he said.
He accused Washington of repeatedly undermining diplomacy over the past decade, recalling the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2017.
“The JCPOA was in place, but in 2017, the US unilaterally abandoned the deal without justification,” Baghaei said.
He also condemned coordinated Israeli strikes on Iran during talks.
“Most recently, amid the negotiation process, the Zionist regime, in concert with the US, carried out unlawful attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he noted, saying such actions underscored Washington’s bad faith “from the outset.”
Baghaei cited comments by US Secretary of State Mark Rubio praising the return of Security Council resolutions as aligned with directives from then-President Donald Trump.
“All of this demonstrates that from the start of the new US administration, the plan was to disrupt the JCPOA and impose unlawful pressure on Iran,” he said.
Regarding relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Baghaei said no decision has been made about continuing talks, adding that the recent presence of two IAEA inspectors was “solely to load fuel into the Bushehr nuclear reactor.”
“At present, there is no inspection underway in Iran, and no inspectors remain in the country,” he stated.
He emphasised that Iran continues engagement with the IAEA as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement, but said a new protocol is under parliamentary review following attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
On Western criticism of Tehran’s JCPOA commitments, Baghaei asked: “When they speak of the JCPOA, particularly the three European countries and the UK Foreign Secretary, which JCPOA are they referring to?”
He dismissed the allegations as “hypocritical and ill-intentioned,” arguing the European parties themselves “have shirked their JCPOA obligations since 2018 and are in no position to accuse Iran.”
Baghaei insisted Iran’s steps remain “lawful, within the JCPOA framework,” and a direct response to US withdrawal and European inaction.
READ ALSO: China, Russia stand with Iran to block European push for UN sanctions snapback
He accused Western diplomacy of seeking to impose “unilateral and excessive demands” on Tehran, and criticised the EU and European states, once mediators, for becoming “instruments of pressure to push Iran into talks with the US.”
Calling the US Secretary of State’s statement “deeply embarrassing,” Baghaei noted it openly described European actions as “executed in line with the directives of the US President.”
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