Iran says UN snapback renders Cairo inspection framework obsolete

Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that renewed United Nations sanctions have rendered a recent agreement with the U.N. atomic watchdog ineffective and warned the snapback move will deal a blow to diplomacy, comments he repeated during a meeting in New York with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Monday. Abbas Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran and reporters in New York that the activation of the snapback mechanism by Britain, France and Germany after months of contention has made the Cairo framework for inspections obsolete and narrowed prospects for credible European mediation.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany formally invoked the snapback provision of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 after accusing Tehran of breaching the 2015 nuclear deal, officials said. The council failed to adopt a resolution seeking to block automatic reimposition of sanctions and a follow-up proposal to extend the JCPOA framework by six months. With those measures rejected, U.N. sanctions were reinstated at midnight GMT on Sunday. The restored measures freeze Iranian assets abroad, prohibit arms sales to and from Iran and impose renewed limits on its defensive missile program.