Senior Iranian lawmaker says Europe ‘hanging onto the US’ in snapback move

The hardliner Kayhan newspaper, funded by Iran's Supreme Leader, called on Tehran to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after European powers moved to trigger the UN snapback mechanism.

“Europe shamelessly activated the snapback mechanism to hammer the final nail into the JCPOA’s coffin,” the paper wrote. “Iran’s response is just one sentence: withdrawal from the NPT.”

It added that such a move would be “a heavy slap that will upend not just US and European calculations, but the entire balance of power in the region.” Remaining in the treaty, it said, “means mocking national independence and insulting the Iranian people.”

Javan newspaper, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said European efforts to trigger the UN snapback mechanism are meant to restrict and ultimately paralyze the country’s defense system. The paper said the goal is to turn society against the state, forcing Iran’s military posture into submission and leaving the country vulnerable to broader attacks.

Aday after three European states triggered a UN mechanism that reimposes international sanctions on Iran, the move appeared to wrongfoot Tehran's establishment despite months of warnings.

Iran's new Security Chief, Ali Larijani, seemed to misread the immediacy of the threat in an interview days before the diplomatic setback.

In an interview with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's official website on August 22, Larijani insisted that China and Russia could shield Iran against the snapback threat.

"This issue is currently under review domestically, and as far as I know, some countries are making efforts to negotiate in order to prevent it from happening. Russia and China also hold a different position. They're acting as obstacles."

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  Months in the making, sanctions snapback still stuns Iran's elite

Iran's new Security Chief, Ali Larijani, seemed to misread the immediacy of the threat in an interview days before the diplomatic setback.

In an interview with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's official website on August 22, Larijani insisted that China and Russia could shield Iran against the snapback threat.

"This issue is currently under review domestically, and as far as I know, some countries are making efforts to negotiate in order to prevent it from happening. Russia and China also hold a different position. They're acting as obstacles."

Larijani is a seasoned politician, but less savvy figures, including state-appointed Friday prayer leaders, also contributed to the confusion with their remarks.

In Shiraz, Friday Prayers imam Lotfollah Dejkam offered a revisionist take on world history, saying: "Europeans have been defeated by Iran several times, and they are likely to experience an even bigger defeat as a result of the snapback."

Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayers Imam of Mashhad, appeared to downplay the seriousness of the likely economic pain due to be wrought by sanctions.

Iranians, he said, who rushed to capital markets to buy gold and foreign currency in anticipation of further devaluation of the Iranian rial were "simpletons."

Many commentators questioned the leadership's broader understanding of the nuclear deal and the international frameworks governing it.

Among the critics was Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Relations Committee, who condemned fellow politicians for their impulsive reactions.

In a post on X, he specifically addressed members of parliament who had tabled a triple-urgency motion calling on the Islamic Republic to exit the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ironically, despite attaching the highest urgency label to the bill, lawmakers postponed its discussion until Saturday, as Friday is a public holiday in Iran.

"Exiting NPT, closing Strait of Hormuz and producing an atomic bomb! For years, the nation has been paying the price for the nonsense you still repeat on (state TV)," Falahatpisheh wrote.

"You believed your own nonsense, which has prevented any rationality and initiative to get out of the deadlocks," he added.

Meanwhile, the promise of diplomatic roads not taken was examined anew.

In an interview with the Entekhab website, Mahmoud Vaezi, chief of staff to former President Hassan Rouhani, revealed that during Rouhani's final days in office, he had asked his successor, President Ebrahim Raisi, to allow him to broker a deal with the United States to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

According to Vaezi, Raisi insisted on reviving the agreement under his own administration. Rouhani argued that even if his government signed the deal, the revenue from oil sales would benefit the incoming government.

Nonetheless, Raisi rejected the proposal, and negotiations with the United States ran aground.

"Under the hammer of snapback, with Moscow's shield broken and Beijing resigned, Khamenei may, like Khomeini before him, bow to survive," Iranian academic and political analyst Shahram Kholdi wrote in his latest piece for Iran International.

"He could proclaim a volte-face: accept spontaneous inspections anywhere in Iran; relocate enrichment to a consortium abroad—in the United Arab Emirates or Qatar—or cede it wholly to Russia," the piece reads.

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  Snapback and survival: sanctions gauntlet further imperils Tehran