Iran working with China and Russia to prevent European sanctions

Iran announced it is collaborating with China and Russia to prevent the implementation of sanctions by European nations over its nuclear programme, The Arab Weekly plus agencies reported on August 15th.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a state TV interview that Iran is actively working with China and Russia to prevent such an escalation from occurring. Araghchi said, “We will try to prevent it.”

“We are working with China and Russia to stop it. If this does not work and they apply it, we have tools to respond. We will discuss them in due course.”

The European trio, commonly referred to as the E3, informed the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on August 12th that they were ready to trigger the 2015 agreement’s snapback mechanism, reinstating sanctions on Tehran if no diplomatic solution is reached by the end of August.

“We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the group’s foreign ministers said in the letter.

“If Iran continues to violate its international obligations, France and its German and British partners will reimpose the global embargoes on arms, nuclear equipment and banking restrictions that were lifted 10 years ago at the end of August,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X on August 13th.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, of which the 3 European powers are signatories, practically collapsed after the withdrawal of the United States in President Donald Trump’s first term.

European countries attempted to adhere to the plan, with Iran initially sticking to the deal’s terms before ramping up its uranium enrichment.

The Arab Weekly plus agencies, AFP, Maghrebi.org