TEHRAN, January 21 (MNA) – Iran has hinted at significant steps if the snapback mechanism is activated, raising questions about the future of its nuclear policy and international commitments.According to the claim of a Wall Street Journal reporter, Iran told the Europeans in Geneva for the first time that if the snapback is activated, it will not only withdraw from the NPT but also change its nuclear doctrine.
Laurence Norman claimed that the three European countries recently told Iran that ballistic missiles should be part of any future negotiation with Trump, but Iran told them that this would not happen.
Snapback mechanism "or mechanism to deal with JCPOA violations by Iran" is a mechanism that, through several stages, could lead to the reimposition of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran.
This mechanism is outlined in Articles 36 and 37 of the JCPOA The snapback mechanism is the final step in reinstating sanctions, where the matter is referred to the Security Council, potentially resulting in the reactivation of six key sanctions resolutions, the most notable of which is Resolution 1929.
Before reaching the snapback mechanism stage, under the executive arrangements defined in the JCPOA, disputes between the parties will be first discussed and reviewed in a special commission.
If no solution is reached there, the issue will be negotiated at a meeting of foreign ministers.
If this still yields no result, a trilateral arbitration involving the European Troika, Iran, and a neutral third country will be formed.
If this approach also proves fruitless, the dispute will be referred to the UN Security Council.
At the Security Council, Iran may also be invited to participate in the discussions but without voting rights.
The 15 members of the Council then have 30 days to issue a new resolution on the matter.
At this stage, permanent members can use their veto power, but if for any reason no resolution is issued within this one-month period, the six sanctions resolutions will be automatically reinstated against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Since this issue is not subject to a vote, members cannot use their veto power.
Currently, as the JCPOA has effectively fallen into a state of paralysis and serves no practical purpose, Iranian officials have signaled the possibility of the snapback mechanism being activated by the Europeans.
The European parties to the deal, who unlike their American counterparts have remained in the now-defunct and ineffective JCPOA, could under the US pressure and the influence of its new hardline administration, proceed with activating the snapback mechanism and reinstating the six UN Security Council sanctions against Iran.
The JCPOA sunset clause and activation of the snapback mechanism In October of next year, the JCPOA sunset clause will come into effect, and Resolution 2231 of the Security Council, which oversees the restrictions imposed on Iran, will expire.
Consequently, there is a possibility that the Europeans might activate the snapback mechanism to prevent the lifting of restrictions on Iran under Resolution 2231.
In response, Iran has stated that if the snapback mechanism is activated, Tehran’s reaction will be to withdraw from the NPT In late November this year, following a new resolution issued against Iran by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the dispute over Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and its cooperation with the IAEA entered a more complex and challenging phase, paving the way for the hostile and dangerous path of activating the snapback mechanism.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy for Legal and International Affairs of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is responsible for negotiating with the IAEA, announced in a special news interview that Iran would withdraw from the NPT if the snapback mechanism is activated.
Also on December 7, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, stated during a session of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament regarding Iran’s negotiations with the three European countries that "If the snapback mechanism is activated, withdrawing from the NPT is one of our options." Speaking in his weekly presser on Monday, 20 January, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that the current Iranian administration will give a reciprocal answer if the so-called snapback mechanism is activated.
Basically, there is no justification or reason for Iran to stay committed to some agreements if such a thing happens, he underlined.
Conslusion Activating the snapback mechanism against Iran by the Europeans, which would lead to the reinstatement of UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic Republic, would be a strategic mistake by the European Troika.
This is because, considering the existing maximum primary and secondary sanctions imposed by the United States against the Iranian nation in recent years—sanctions that, contrary to Resolution 2231, have placed Iran under a harsher sanctions regime than before the JCPOA—this measure will not serve the West’s goal of forcing Iran to retreat on the nuclear issue.
Instead, it will significantly hinder Tehran’s willingness to continue cooperation with the IAEA or negotiate over its peaceful nuclear program.
Moreover, Iran's possible withdrawal from the NPT would end five decades of interaction and cooperation between Tehran and the IAEA, which would be considered a complete failure for both the West and the agency.
Therefore, IAEA officials and decision-makers in the European Troika must adopt a constructive approach to cooperation with Iran and avoid excessive demands, and hostile policies.
The JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.
Former US President Donald Trump illegally pulled out of the deal in 2018 while the current US President, Joe Biden, has signaled that he is ready to resurrect the agreement.
Russia, the UK, Germany, China, the US, and France have been in talks with Iran since April 2021 to reinstate the deal.
The talks to salvage the JCPOA kicked off in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April 2021, with the intention of examining Washington’s seriousness in rejoining the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.
The negotiations have been at a standstill since August due to Washington’s insistence on its hard-nosed position of not removing all the sanctions that were slapped on the Islamic Republic by the previous Trump administration.
Iran maintains it is necessary for the other side to offer some guarantees that it will remain committed to any agreement that is reached.
MP/