Iran says it supports resolution by Russia and China to extend UNSCR 2231

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Iran on Friday, one day after Britain, France and Germany triggered the so-called "snapback" mechanism which will restore UN sanctions on Tehran after 30 days unless a new resolution blocks it.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the move by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to trigger the UN snapback mechanism, saying it reduces the likelihood of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and will prompt a response from Tehran.

“As I have made abundantly clear, the E3’s decision will have significant adverse impacts on diplomacy. It will severely undermine the ongoing dialogue between Iran and the IAEA. It will also compel an appropriate response,” Araghchi posted on X on Friday.

Araghchi added that since the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as JCPOA, Europe has failed to meet its obligations under the agreement.

“The reality is that we are at a point where the West cannot even guarantee that it will cease further unlawful military strikes on my people while negotiations are held,” Araghchi said.

Iran's oil minister told the state TV the "snapback" mechanism triggered by European powers could impose restrictions on Tehran's oil sales that may require further countermeasures, but stressed the Islamic Republic will not be constrained by them.

"We have faced restrictions on oil sales for years, and this has given us the expertise to bypass such sanctions. Our current team can devise different ways of overcoming these restrictions," Mohsen Paknjead said.

"The snapback sanctions can move us toward conditions that require new countermeasures, but we won't be tied down by them," he added.

"Iran's continued participation in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is nothing but yielding to the enemy’s blackmail and an insult to the Iranian nation and government," said Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in the hardline Kayhan newspaper.

"During the recent 12-day war, the European troika (Britain, France and Germany) stood alongside the United States and Israel and even refused to condemn America’s attack on our nuclear facilities. Make no mistake: the recent move by the three European countries is a continuation of that 12-day war and is aimed at compensating for the defeat of the United States and the Zionist regime."

Shariatmadari said "leaving the NPT is not only an overdue necessity at this point, but also Iran’s ‘counter-attack’ to the enemy’s ‘offensive,’ and any delay in doing so would mean giving ground to the adversary."

The acting Friday prayer Imam of Tehran, Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, accused Britain, France, and Germany of acting as “proxies” for Israeli interests after their move to trigger the UN snapback mechanism against Iran.

Calling the step “illegal, immoral, and purely political,” he said it was done under US and Israeli pressure.

“This decision is a symbolic act of desperation after the disgraceful failure of the US and Israel in the recent conflict,” he said during his sermon on Friday.