Iran Denounces UN Sanctions Snapback as Illegal, Says They Create ‘No Commitment’

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a statement declaring the reimposition of United Nations sanctions to be illegal and unjustified, insisting that the move creates "no commitment" for UN member states, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. The sharply worded declaration, released by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), frames the "snapback" of sanctions as an illegitimate misuse of the 2015 nuclear deal's mechanisms by the United States and its European allies, and signals Tehran's intent to defy the comprehensive punitive measures that officially took effect over the weekend, setting the stage for a new and more perilous phase of confrontation.

The statement from Tehran's diplomatic apparatus is a direct response to the formal completion of the snapback process, which was announced on Saturday evening by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In his own press statement, previously covered by Kurdistan24, Secretary Rubio confirmed that as of 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a raft of sanctions under six previous UN Security Council resolutions were once again in force, a development he hailed as an "act of decisive global leadership" initiated by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. This move, representing a severe diplomatic blow to Tehran, automatically reactivates a stringent sanctions regime targeting nearly every aspect of Iran's strategic programs.

However, from Iran's perspective, the action is entirely devoid of legal, moral, and logical standing. The IRNA report detailed the Foreign Ministry's core argument: that the three European countries (E3), acting under the "instigation and pressure of the United States," had initiated the snapback mechanism while they themselves were in "significant non-performance" of their own commitments under the original 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The ministry accused the E3 of misusing the JCPOA's dispute resolution process with "clear bad faith" and, in an explosive accusation, of acting with "explicitly or implicitly supporting the military aggression of the Zionist regime and the United States against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities" during the 12-day war in June.

This, the statement argued, was an explicit violation of the JCPOA, Security Council Resolution 2231, and the foundational principles of international law, including Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.

The Foreign Ministry's statement further contended that the process was procedurally flawed at the UN Security Council. It cited operative paragraph 11 of Resolution 2231, which stipulates that the Council must "take into account the views of the states concerned."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry lamented that "despite the clear positions of the other JCPOA members, specifically Iran, China, and the Russian Federation, with pressure from the three European countries and the United States, the President of the Council illegally put the draft resolution to a vote."

On this basis, the statement concluded, "the Islamic Republic of Iran rejects the claim by the three European countries and the United States regarding the return of the previous resolutions... and insists that no commitment is created for the members of the United Nations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran."

This stance comes after a week of frantic but ultimately fruitless last-ditch diplomatic efforts at the UN General Assembly in New York. As reported by The Associated Press and covered by Kurdistan24, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attempted to halt the sanctions, but their mission was effectively doomed from the start.

Their hands were tied by Iran's own Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who, on the eve of their trip, delivered a speech describing diplomacy with the United States as a "sheer dead end." A final attempt by China and Russia to pass a resolution delaying the snapback at the Security Council also failed on Friday, sealing the sanctions' fate.

The IRNA report also provided a window into the failed negotiations, revealing Tehran's perspective on the collapse of diplomacy. The Foreign Ministry statement asserted that over the past four years, Iran had "presented numerous initiatives and proposals for the re-implementation of JCPOA commitments," all of which failed due to a "lack of seriousness and absence of good faith" from the West.

The ministry claimed that in the past two months, Iran had made "great efforts" to prevent the snapback, including reaching an understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sept. 9 and presenting "useful and logical proposals," which were met with "disregard and excessive demands" from the E3 and the United States.

This culminated in what Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a separate statement to reporters, described as an "unacceptable" U.S. demand for Iran to hand over all of its enriched uranium in exchange for a brief, three-month sanctions reprieve.

The reimposition of these UN sanctions lands on an Iran already reeling from a profound economic and social crisis, a situation detailed in a stark report by The Associated Press from Dubai. The country is now "hungrier, poorer and more anxious," with its currency at a record low and the cost of essential food items skyrocketing.

"For as long as I can remember, we’ve been struggling with economic hardship, and every year it’s worse than the last," a father named Sina told the AP. This economic hardship is compounded by deep-seated fears of a renewed conflict and a harsh domestic crackdown, with human rights groups reporting a terrifying surge in executions in 2025.

As the new sanctions take effect, Iran appears to be turning away from the West and deepening its strategic partnerships elsewhere. As Kurdistan24 reported, in a move signaling closer ties with Moscow, Iran announced on Friday a $25 billion deal with Russia’s Rosatom to construct four new nuclear power plants.

On Saturday, in a direct response to the E3's action, Tehran summoned its ambassadors to Britain, France, and Germany back to Iran for consultations.

The crucial question of enforcement now comes to the fore. As Agence France-Presse noted, while UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding, they are often violated. It remains an open question whether countries like China and Russia, which deemed the snapback illegal, will comply.

China has remained a major buyer of Iranian crude oil despite existing U.S. sanctions, and Russia has come to rely on Iranian drones in its war on Ukraine. Clement Therme, a researcher at the International Institute for Iranian Studies, explained to AFP that while a full blockade is unlikely, the sanctions will impose significant costs. "

There is a cost to circumventing sanctions, a political cost, but also a financial and economic cost because financial transactions become more expensive," he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry's statement concluded with a stern warning, accusing the West of being under the "false assumption that by resorting to the tactic of reviving the cancelled Security Council resolutions, they will gain a new lever of pressure."

It affirmed that the Islamic Republic "will seriously defend the rights and national interests of Iran, and any move to harm the interests and rights of the Iranian nation will be met with an appropriate and decisive response." As Iran braces for the impact of a formidable new wall of international isolation, its government has made it unequivocally clear that it will not bow to what it considers an illegal and immoral campaign of coercion.