Iran was scheduled to face sweeping UN sanctions late Saturday—for the first time in a decade, barring any last-minute surprise—following the collapse of nuclear negotiations with Western powers.
On Friday, the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed its inspectors were allowed back at Iranian sites, but Western powers determined that insufficient progress had been made to agree to a delay after a week of intense, high-level diplomacy at the UN General Assembly.
European powers initiated the countdown for the UN sanctions “snapback” a month ago, accusing Iran of failing to be transparent about its nuclear program, particularly concerning countermeasures taken in response to earlier Israeli and US bombing campaigns.
Following the triggering of the mechanism by the three European nations, Iranian state television reported on Saturday that Iran had recalled its envoys in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for consultations.
The sanctions are scheduled to take effect at 0000 GMT on Sunday (8:00 pm Saturday in New York). They will establish a global ban on cooperation with companies, individuals, and organizations accused of contributing to Iran’s nuclear program or ballistic missiles.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian asserted there was no reason to reach an agreement when, in his view, the US and Israel were exploiting the pressure to seek the toppling of the Islamic republic. “If the goal had been to resolve concerns on the nuclear program, we could easily do that,” Pezeshkian told reporters, reiterating his firm stance that Iran will never pursue nuclear weapons.
Pezeshkian, who met with French President Emmanuel Macron during the week, mentioned that France had suggested Iran surrender its highly enriched uranium stockpile in exchange for a one-month delay in the return of sanctions. He dismissed the offer, asking, “Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?” He then accused the United States of pressuring the Europeans to refrain from reaching a compromise.
Though Steve Witkoff, Trump’s friend and roving negotiator, had indicated that the US was open to further talks and did not wish to harm Iran, Pezeshkian charged that Witkoff lacked seriousness, claiming he had retracted previous agreements during earlier discussions that abruptly ended after Israel launched its military campaign.
Russia Vows Non-Enforcement
The sanctions are intended to inflict new economic pain on Iran, but their universal enforcement remains uncertain. Russian deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyansky declared on Friday that Moscow, a significant partner of Iran, considers the re-imposition of sanctions to be “null and void.” Russia and China attempted to delay the re-imposition of sanctions until April at the Security Council on Friday but failed to secure sufficient votes.
The US already maintains its own unilateral sanctions on Iran and has tried to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil, though companies from China have ignored this pressure. Trump initiated a “maximum pressure” campaign during his first term when he withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama, which had suspended UN sanctions in return for severe restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
The new sanctions constitute a “snapback” of the UN measures that were suspended under the 2015 deal—an accord that Britain, France, and Germany had strongly supported following Trump’s withdrawal.
The International Crisis Group reported that Iran appears unconcerned by the snapback, having already adapted to coping with US sanctions. However, the report noted that reversing the snapback mechanism would be difficult, as it requires consensus at the Security Council. The sanctions are also “likely to compound the malaise around an economy already struggling with high inflation, currency woes and deepening infrastructure problems,” the report concluded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a defiant UN address on Friday, urged against any delay in the snapback and hinted that Israel was prepared to strike Iran’s nuclear program again, following the 12 days of bombing in June that Iranian authorities claim resulted in over 1,000 fatalities.
Pezeshkian stated that Iran would not retaliate against the sanctions by leaving the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, warning that unnamed powers are seeking a “superficial pretext to set the region ablaze.”
