UN Security Council permanent members China and Russia backed Iran on Monday in rejecting a move by European countries to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran that were loosened under the 2015 nuclear agreement.
A letter signed by the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian foreign ministers said the move by Britain, France, and Germany to automatically restore the sanctions under a so-called “snapback mechanism” was “legally and procedurally flawed.”
China, Russia, and the three European countries signed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which lifted punishing sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to the country’s nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in 2018 and Iran steadily ramped enrichment back up, building up a large stockpile of near-weapons grade nuclear material.
On Thursday, the European countries, known as the E3, launched the mechanism to reimpose sanctions, accusing Iran of violating the deal, which had limited Iran to small amounts of nuclear material enriched to under 3.67 percent purity.
US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in 2018 and Iran steadily ramped enrichment back up, building up a large stockpile of near-weapons grade nuclear material.
On Thursday, the European countries, known as the E3, launched the mechanism to reimpose sanctions, accusing Iran of violating the deal, which had limited Iran to small amounts of nuclear material enriched to under 3.67 percent purity.
