BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 29. The foreign ministers of the E3 (UK, France and Germany) issued a joint statement on the activation of the 'snapback' mechanism, which envisages the reinstatement of UN Security Council resolutions against Iran, Trend reports.
The statement pointed out that the E3 foreign ministers continue to share the fundamental objective that Iran shall never seek, acquire or develop a nuclear weapon.
With this objective in mind, the E3 countries agreed first the Joint Plan of Action (JPoA) in 2013 and subsequently the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) in 2015, together with the US, Russia and China, and it's due to Iran’s persistent and significant non-performance of its JCPoA commitments that the E3 triggered the 'snapback' mechanism on August 28, 2025.
The statement added that the E3 welcomes the re-instatement since 20:00 EDT (00:00 GMT) on September 27, 2025 of Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), and 1929 (2010) after completion of the snapback process as provided for in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, urging Iran and all states to abide fully by these resolutions.
The statement said that these resolutions are not new: they contain a set of sanctions and other restrictive measures that were previously imposed by the UN Security Council and relate to Iran’s proliferation activities.
Those measures were lifted by the Council in the context of the JCPoA, at a time when Iran had committed to ensuring its nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful. Given that Iran repeatedly breached these commitments, the E3 had no choice but to trigger the snapback procedure, at the end of which those resolutions were brought back into force.
"Since 2019, Iran has exceeded all limits on its nuclear programme that it had freely committed to under the JCPoA. According to the IAEA’s report of 4 September 2025, Iran holds a quantity of enriched uranium which is 48 times the JCPoA limit. Today, Iran’s stockpile is entirely outside of IAEA monitoring. This includes 10 ‘Significant Quantities’ of High Enriched Uranium (HEU) – 10 times the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded. Iran has no credible civilian justification whatsoever for its HEU stockpile. No other country without a nuclear weapons programme enriches uranium to such levels and at this scale," the statement noted.
According to the statement, despite these long-standing violations, the E3 have continuously made every effort to avoid triggering snapback, bring Iran back into compliance and reach a durable and comprehensive diplomatic resolution.
"We triggered the JCPoA’s dispute resolution mechanism in January 2020 as acknowledged by the JCPoA coordinator. In 2020 and 2021 we engaged in months of talks with the aim of fully restoring the JCPoA and returning the United States to the deal. Instead, Iran chose to reject two offers put on the table by the JCPoA coordinator in 2022 and to further expand its nuclear activities in clear breach of its JCPoA commitments.
In July 2025, we offered Iran a limited, one-time snapback extension provided that Iran agreed to resume direct and unconditional negotiations with the United States, return to compliance with its legally binding safeguards obligations, and address its high enriched uranium stockpile. These measures were fair and achievable. Iran did not engage seriously with this offer," the statement mentioned.
The statement added that on August 28, in view of Iran’s continued nuclear escalation, France, Germany and the UK initiated the 'snapback' mechanism as a last resort, in accordance with paragraph 11 of Security Council Resolution 2231.
"This began a 30-day process designed to give Iran an opportunity to address concerns over its nuclear programme. Our snapback extension offer remained on the table during that period.
Regrettably, Iran did not take the necessary actions to address our concerns, nor to meet our asks on extension, despite extensive dialogue, including during United Nations High-Level Week.
In particular, Iran has not authorised IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran’s nuclear sites, nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium," the statement further said.
Per the communiqué, on September 19, in alignment with UNSCR
2231, the Security Council deliberated and cast votes on a
resolution aimed at perpetuating the sanctions-lifting framework
concerning Iran.
The result of the electoral process was a definitive negative
response.
This resolution unequivocally conveyed that all sovereign entities
are mandated to adhere to their global accords and responsibilities
pertaining to the non-proliferation of nuclear armaments.
The communiqué underscored that France, Germany, and the UK are now
prioritizing, with immediate effect, the rapid reinstatement of
constraints mandated by these resolutions, in alignment with the E3
commitments as UN member entities, compelling all UN member states
to execute these punitive measures.
The E3 will persist in leveraging diplomatic channels and
engaging in multifaceted negotiations.
The reinstatement of UN sanctions does not signify the cessation of
diplomatic engagement.
Europe implores Iran to abstain from any provocative maneuvers and
to reestablish adherence to its obligatory safeguards commitments
as delineated by international law.
The E3 will persist in engaging with all stakeholders to facilitate
a novel diplomatic resolution aimed at guaranteeing that Iran does
not acquire nuclear armament capabilities.
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