On August 28, the UK, France, and Germany—the three major European countries known as the E3—began the process of reimposing UN sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear program.
In a joint statement that day, the E3 foreign ministers announced that Germany, France, and the UK had decided to notify the UN Security Council of Iran’s significant non-performance of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), thereby triggering the snapback mechanism.
The snapback provision was built into the 2015 accord, allowing a participant to initiate the process of restoring sanctions if they believe Iran has significantly failed to fulfill its nuclear commitments. This is done by notifying the UN Security Council. It is based on UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
A 30-day grace period applies before previously lifted UN Security Council resolutions (sanctions and restrictive measures) are reinstated, following the E3’s triggering of the snapback mechanism. If the UN Security Council does not adopt a separate resolution to maintain the lifting of sanctions within this period, the sanctions on Iran’s various sectors, including finance, oil, and defense industries, will be automatically reimposed.
