China and Russia joined Iran on Monday in rejecting a move by Britain, France and Germany to bring back United Nations sanctions on Tehran, Reuters reported. In a letter signed by the Chinese, Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, the three countries said the European attempt to use the so-called “snapback mechanism” was “legally and procedurally flawed.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi shared the letter on X, saying it had been signed in Tianjin. “Our joint letter with my colleagues, the foreign ministers of China and Russia, reflects the firm position that the European attempt to invoke snapback is legally baseless and politically destructive,” he wrote. Our joint letter with my colleagues, the Foreign Ministers of China and Russia, signed in Tianjin reflects the firm position that the European attempt to invoke “snapback” is legally baseless and politically destructive. By declaring the E3’s move null and void, we have placed on… pic.twitter.com/YC4LKNkxMX — Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) September 1, 2025 China and Russia were among the original signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, alongside the three European countries. The agreement eased international financial sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear programme. The United States withdrew from the deal in 2018 under President Donald Trump. Last week, the European countries triggered the snapback mechanism, accusing Iran of breaching its commitments. Iran has exceeded the deal’s uranium production limits, saying it was justified after Washington abandoned the accord. The agreement is due to expire in October, and the snapback move would reinstate sanctions lifted under the deal. Iran and the European countries held talks in Geneva last week on a possible new nuclear deal following US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June. But the E3 concluded that Tehran had not shown readiness to move forward. “The course taken by Britain, France and Germany abuses the authority and functions of the UN Security Council,” the letter stated.
