Iran calls ambassadors back from UK, Germany, and France

Tehran: Iran has called its ambassadors back from Germany, France, and the UK in a major development related to its nuclear program and sanctions.

According to Iranian state television, the decision was made to protest against the activation of the ‘trigger mechanism’ by the three European countries.

Iran called the E3 move by the UK, Germany, and France an irresponsible and cruel decision, saying that the conditions of the European troika were unacceptable. We will not make any decision under pressure.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held talks with European leaders during the General Assembly session in New York, but they failed to reach any conclusion.

On the other hand, Iranian President Masoud Pazishkian also admitted that consultations with European countries did not go as expected.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that Iran will not bow to any pressure. Iran will remain steadfast in its national interests and nuclear program, even if this results in the re-imposition of UN sanctions.

It is pertinent to note that on August 28, three European countries—Britain, France, and Germany— initiated what is called a snapback or ‘trigger mechanism’ against Iran.

The three countries notified the UN Security Council of the activation of the trigger mechanism, stating that Iran’s performance in implementing the agreement had been very poor.

If the Security Council does not pass a resolution to block this decision, UN sanctions on Iran will be re-imposed within 30 days.

What is Trigger Mechanism?

The ‘Trigger Mechanism’ is actually a legal response to the nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran (JCPOA – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

If a party to the agreement suspects that Iran (or another member state) is violating the agreement, it can use this mechanism to take the matter to the UN Security Council.

If the UN Security Council proves that Iran’s violation of the nuclear deal is justified, the sanctions waivers granted to Iran will end, meaning the sanctions will be re-imposed.

In addition, if the Security Council fails to adopt a unanimous resolution to lift the sanctions on Iran within 30 days, the sanctions will be automatically re-imposed.

This mechanism is called a ‘trigger’ because once activated, the sanctions will inevitably be re-imposed, whether a country likes it or not, and it cannot be vetoed.