KEY POINTS
- UN Security Council blocked move to permanently lift restrictions on Tehran.
- Russia denounces sanctions as “provocative” and warns of escalation.
- Snapback would restore arms embargo, nuclear bans, asset freeze, and travel bans.
TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday pledged that Iran would withstand any reimposition of United Nations sanctions under the “snapback” mechanism, a day after the UN Security Council blocked a move to permanently lift restrictions on Tehran.
“Through the ‘snapback’ they block the road, but it is the brains and the thoughts that open or build the road,” Pezeshkian said in remarks carried by state television.
“They cannot stop us. They can strike our Natanz or Fordow (nuclear installations attacked by the US and Israel in June), But they are unaware that it is humans who built and will rebuild Natanz,” Pezeshkian said.
The UN Security Council move came on Friday after Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process last month to reimpose sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies having any such intention.
“We will never surrender in the face of excessive demands because we have the power to change the situation,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by state media.
The “snapback” process would reimpose UN sanctions on Iran unless an agreement is reached on a delay between Tehran and key European powers within about a week.
Russia Slams Sanctions
Russia on Saturday slammed the UN Security Council vote to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and warned of a risk of an “escalation of tensions”.
“The Russian side has repeatedly pointed out the provocative and illegal nature of the actions of the European countries participating in the JCPOA,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“These actions have nothing to do with diplomacy and lead exclusively to a further escalation of tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program,” the Russian ministry said.
In August, Moscow warned that the reimposition of sanctions against Iran risked “irreparable consequences”.
The snapback would reimpose an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a global asset freeze and travel bans on Iranian individuals and entities.
