UN Reimposes Sanctions on Iran a Decade After Nuclear Deal
The United Nations has reimposed broad economic and military sanctions on Iran, a decade after they were lifted under a landmark international agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program. The measures came into effect after the UK, France, and Germany—the European signatories of the deal—activated the so-called “snapback” mechanism, citing Iran’s “continued nuclear escalation” and lack of cooperation.
Iran had suspended inspections of its nuclear facilities, obligations mandated under the 2015 deal, following US and Israeli airstrikes on several of its nuclear and military sites in June. President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted last week that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons.
Describing the renewed sanctions as “unfair, unjust, and illegal,” Pezeshkian called them the latest setback for the deal, which was hailed as a turning point in Western relations with the long-isolated nation when first signed.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) limits Iran’s nuclear installations, uranium stockpiles, and research activities, allowing the country to develop civilian nuclear power without pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran began expanding its prohibited nuclear activities after former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018, repeatedly criticizing it as flawed and promising to negotiate better terms.
The US and Israeli strikes in June aimed to slow Iran’s nuclear progress and punish it for supplying regional proxies that repeatedly targeted Israel. While Trump claimed the attacks caused “monumental damage,” experts remain divided on their actual impact. Iran stated that the strikes “fundamentally changed the situation,” rendering international support for the deal “obsolete.”
European allies still involved in the JCPOA hope diplomacy can reduce tensions. In a joint statement, they urged Iran to “refrain from any escalatory action” and stressed that the “reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy.”
Recent talks between the three European powers and Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly failed to produce an agreement that would have delayed the sanctions. The E3 foreign ministers said they had “no choice” but to trigger the snapback mechanism, citing repeated Iranian violations of its commitments and a lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Specifically, they highlighted Tehran’s refusal to grant inspectors access to nuclear sites or report on its high-enriched uranium stockpiles.
The suspension of IAEA inspections followed the US and Israeli strikes, but the agency confirmed on Friday that inspections have now resumed.
In response, Iran declared the sanctions “illegal” and “unjustifiable,” warning that any measures undermining its people’s rights would be met with a “firm and appropriate response.” Pezeshkian, while easing earlier threats to exit the Non-Proliferation Treaty, cautioned that renewed sanctions could jeopardize negotiations. He also rejected a US demand to surrender all enriched uranium in exchange for a temporary sanctions exemption, asking, “Why would we put ourselves in such a trap?”
Western powers and the IAEA remain skeptical of Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. Israel welcomed the UN sanctions, calling them a “major development in response to Iran’s ongoing violations” and urging the international community to use “every tool” to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
