The E3 has no authority to lift U.S. unilateral sanctions on Iran, nor does it possess the capacity to reduce tensions or reshape the region’s security landscape, said an Iranian international lawyer and foreign policy analyst.
Reza Nasri, posted on his Telegram Channel:
“Fully aware of its strategic irrelevance, the E3 clings to what it believes is its only remaining lever in the nuclear file: the JCPOA’s so-called snapback mechanism, through which it could attempt to reinstate UN Security Council sanctions.
If the E3 takes this step, however, it will strip Iran of any incentive to engage with it. By illegitimately resorting to snapback, Europe would expose its bad faith, trigger sanctions it cannot later reverse, and extinguish whatever role it still hopes to play in the process.
In practice, the very instrument the E3 imagines will preserve its relevance is the one most certain to guarantee its exclusion from future negotiations with Iran.
A genuine alternative lies in explicitly renouncing any resort to the snapback mechanism and presenting itself instead as a reliable and autonomous negotiating partner. By taking snapback off the table, Europe would demonstrate a commitment to good faith diplomacy over coercion, rebuild trust with Iran, provide Iranian negotiators the domestic political space they need for engagement, and secure a meaningful role in shaping future talks.
This would be a bold move that requires courage, yet it could mark Europe’s first genuine leap toward strategic autonomy in the emerging new order.”
The E3, consisting of Germany, France, and the UK, had previously threatened that they would trigger the snapback mechanism by the end of August if Iran refused to negotiate on its nuclear program.
Iran has consistently stated that it is committed to peaceful nuclear activities and has never sought to develop a nuclear bomb, and that it is ready to engage in discussions on this issue. However, halting uranium enrichment on its soil is not negotiable.
Avash News