TEHRAN (BN24) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has issued a sharp warning to European powers, accusing Britain, France, and Germany of pursuing a “reckless” and legally unfounded course in their handling of the 2015 nuclear agreement. In a strongly worded opinion piece published in The Guardian on Sunday, Araghchi criticized the so-called E3 for aligning with Washington in a manner he said undermines both the nuclear accord and Europe’s credibility on the world stage.
Araghchi condemned the European trio’s recent decision to initiate the snapback mechanism—an automatic restoration of United Nations sanctions originally lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “The truth is that they are intently pursuing a reckless course of action,” Araghchi wrote, calling it “a grave miscalculation that is bound to backfire.”
The E3 triggered the snapback process in August, citing what they called “significant violations” by Tehran of its JCPOA obligations. The United States, which bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in June amid a broader Israeli assault, has welcomed the European initiative, despite having withdrawn from the deal under former President Donald Trump in 2018.
Araghchi pointedly rejected the E3’s move as lacking “any legal standing,” arguing that Iran’s actions were lawful and within the framework of the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism. He said Tehran took “remedial measures” only after the U.S. exited the agreement and reimposed sanctions—a breach the E3, in his view, failed to counteract.
“European leaders once promised to protect trade with Iran,” Araghchi noted, referencing pledges made after the U.S. withdrawal. “None of it materialised.” He accused the E3 of abandoning their commitments under U.S. pressure, undermining their own professed goal of “strategic autonomy.”
The Iranian diplomat also took aim at Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who reportedly praised Israel’s military campaign against Iran. “Openly cheerleading illegal military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities protected by international law… does not constitute ‘participation’ in the deal,” Araghchi said. Merz had previously described Israel’s bombing of Iranian sites as “dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us.”
Despite the sharp tone, Araghchi emphasized Iran’s continued openness to diplomacy. He reiterated that Tehran is prepared to negotiate a “realistic and lasting bargain” that includes stringent oversight and limits on uranium enrichment—if sanctions are fully lifted. “We are ready for a bargain that entails ironclad oversight in exchange for the termination of sanctions,” he said, warning that missing this opportunity could escalate tensions across the region.
The foreign minister also alluded to Israel’s role in provoking regional instability. “The powerful armed forces of Iran are ready and able to once again pummel Israel into running to ‘daddy’ to be bailed out,” he wrote, suggesting that further Israeli attacks could drag the U.S. into another costly Middle East conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded last month by reaffirming Washington’s readiness for dialogue, stating, “The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran—in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue.” He defended the snapback move, saying it “does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”
A new round of direct nuclear negotiations had been scheduled for June 15 but was postponed indefinitely after Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran two days before the talks were to begin.
A core disagreement remains unresolved: while the U.S. insists Iran must halt all domestic uranium enrichment, Tehran maintains that enrichment for peaceful purposes is its sovereign right—an entitlement explicitly recognized under the JCPOA, provided it remains under international oversight.
The JCPOA’s snapback provision allows any signatory—initially including the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China—to trigger the reimposition of U.N. sanctions, bypassing any veto by other Security Council members. In 2020, Washington attempted to invoke the snapback despite having exited the accord—a move widely rejected by other signatories and deemed legally invalid. Now, with the E3 invoking the clause in concert with the U.S., Iran sees a familiar pattern of unilateral pressure wrapped in the language of diplomacy.
Credit: Al Jazeera
