Iran announced that it plans to engage in discussions with Russia and China on Tuesday, aiming to avoid the re-imposition of U.N. snapback sanctions as the deadline for a nuclear agreement approaches.
“We are in regular talks with these two countries to prevent the snapback from being triggered or to lessen its impact,” stated Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei during a Monday press conference, according to Iran International. “We share similar views and maintain positive relations.”
China and Russia were both part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement designed to curb Iran’s nuclear activities, which faced setbacks after the U.S. exited the deal during President Trump’s first term in 2018 and Iran progressed with its nuclear program.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stands with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, before a meeting regarding the Iranian nuclear issue on March 14, 2025, in Beijing. (Pool via Reuters)
But top D.C. officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have continued to encourage European allies to use this tool to push Iran to cease nuclear development.
Iran is also set to hold talks with France, Germany and the U.K. – an alliance also known as the E3 – this Friday, though the window to secure a new nuclear deal is closing despite years of repeated attempts.
“Snapback at the UNSC remains, not just the Trump administration’s, but the international community’s most powerful political and diplomatic tool against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iranian expert and senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran program, told Fox News Digital.
“Snapback and a restoration of older, tougher UNSC resolutions that contain arms export prohibitions, missile testing prohibitions, as well as a panel of experts to monitor sanctions compliance, will actually magnify the political and military dividends that the U.S. and Israeli strikes have given,” he added.
A banner depicting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed next to a ballistic missile in Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Security experts have been sounding the alarm for months that it will take roughly six weeks for U.N. sanctions to be enforced, largely due to procedural reasons, and the ability to enforce snapback sanctions under JCPOA terms will expire on Oct. 18.
Ben Taleblu also warned that these intense sanctions on Iran could instigate further security threats to the West when it comes to Tehran’s nuclear program, as it could prompt Iran to leave other major international nuclear agreements like the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
