E3 Countries to Trigger JCPOA Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Possible Snapback Sanctions on Iran
The United Kingdom, France and Germany plan to trigger the dispute settlement mechanism of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, potentially leading to European snapback sanctions against Iran. In a Jan. 14 statement, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the three countries still want to preserve the agreement, but “we could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered,” Maas said, according to an unofficial translation. “We will tackle this together with all partners in the agreement. We call on Iran to participate constructively in the negotiation process that is now beginning.”
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The announcement came about a week after Iran announced further decommitments from the JCPOA (see 2001060048). Under the dispute mechanism, Iran’s actions will now be reviewed by the deal’s Joint Commission, which is composed of the signatories of the JCPOA. If the commission determines that Iran’s actions constitute “significant non-performance” of the deal, the United Nations Security Council will vote on a resolution to reimpose sanctions on Iran.