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Iran would respond to snapback-triggered sanctions on its oil sales by preventing other countries from selling their oil, warned Yahya Al-e Eshaq, head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce and a conservative political figure.
“If we’re unable to sell our oil, we won’t allow others to sell theirs,” he said in an interview published on Friday.
Al-e Eshaq said authorities had long anticipated the reimposition of UN sanctions and had planned accordingly. “This didn’t happen overnight. There’s a strategic and calculated response in place,” he said, adding that relevant bodies such as the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) would ultimately decide how to respond.
The main goal behind the European move to trigger the UN snapback mechanism is to create psychological and economic pressure on Iran, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Friday, warning the action is part of a broader effort to destabilize the country.
“The real aim of the enemies is to spark fear and economic anxiety among the Iranian people,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. “This is one link in a wider chain designed to bring about internal collapse.”
Boroujerdi dismissed the European step as legally baseless and politically motivated, describing it as an attempt by the E3 to escape diplomatic irrelevance. “This won’t change anything in practice—current US and EU sanctions are already harsher than what any revived UN resolution would impose.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei criticized the UK, France and Germany for triggering the snapback of UN sanctions, saying the move “is driven not by legal necessity or sound judgment” but by “obedience” to US policy.
In a post on X, Baghaei accused the E3 of abandoning credibility and following a “rules-based order” where “might makes right.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday that the next 30 days offer a renewed opportunity to reach a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program.
“We are entering a new phase… to really find diplomatic ways to find a solution,” she told reporters.
The remarks came after France, Germany and the UK triggered the UN snapback process, giving Tehran until late September to avoid the return of sanctions.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that resuming UN sanctions on Iran would harm efforts toward a political and diplomatic resolution of the nuclear issue. Beijing continues to call for dialogue and a negotiated settlement.
