Foreign Ministry Statement: Iran reserves the right to respond appropriately to any illegal action.
According to the news website “Sedaye Sama”, the text of the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the illegal action by the three European countries to reinstate expired UN Security Council resolutions through the abuse of the dispute resolution mechanism in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Security Council Resolution 2231 is as follows:
The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the action of the three European countries—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—for exploiting the dispute resolution mechanism in the JCPOA in order to reinstate Security Council resolutions that were terminated under Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA of 2015. Iran considers this action illegal, unjustified, and provocative.
Security Council Resolution 2231, as an integral part of the JCPOA, endorsed the nuclear agreement, affirmed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, removed false allegations raised against it, and approved strict verification measures. Under Resolution 2231, all Security Council resolutions imposed on Iran between 2006 and 2009 were terminated, and it was agreed that the Iranian nuclear file would be removed from the Security Council’s agenda by September 2025.
The destructive action by the three European countries to reinstate canceled resolutions comes at a time when safeguarded nuclear facilities in Iran have been subjected to illegal attacks by the Zionist entity and the United States, causing severe damage. These attacks constitute a clear violation of the UN Charter, a threat to international peace and security, and a serious weakening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Nevertheless, these three countries refrained from condemning these attacks and instead misused the JCPOA dispute resolution mechanism, thereby committing a double violation.
Furthermore, these governments ignored the understanding reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 9 September 2025, despite widespread international welcome, completely disregarding it. Their main pretext for the “snapback” was Iran’s alleged lack of cooperation with the Agency. In addition, they rejected Iran’s logical proposal, even while acknowledging its reasonableness, citing flimsy excuses, as their primary aim was to pursue their excessive political ambitions from the outset.
Despite Iran’s continuous efforts to keep the door to diplomacy open, it sees that these countries have shown no independence in their decisions and have followed the unilateral and illegal policies of the United States.
The Islamic Republic of Iran affirms the following:
- The step taken today by the three European countries in the Security Council to reinstate the canceled resolutions is illegal, unjustified, and provocative, severely undermining ongoing diplomatic tracks.
- The United States and the three European countries bear full responsibility for the consequences of this action if it leads to the re-imposition of canceled Security Council resolutions against Iran, due to their distortion of facts, baseless claims, and pressure on certain non-permanent Security Council members to follow this path.
- The continuation of the process to reinstate sanctions in the Security Council was carried out without consensus, despite strong opposition from several Council members, further weakening the credibility of the Security Council and dealing a blow to diplomacy and the non-proliferation regime.
- Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is based on the will of the Iranian people for scientific and technological advancement and is designed to continue on this path. The Islamic Republic of Iran, while pursuing its interests and rights, including through diplomacy, reserves the right to respond appropriately to any illegal action.
- The Islamic Republic of Iran calls on all responsible members of the international community to reject the illegal action of the three European countries in the Security Council and refrain from granting it any legitimacy.
