London, 14 September 2023
The UK, France and Germany (E3) announce they will transfer UN sanctions on Iran into domestic regimes and maintain EU/UK sanctions beyond October deadline.
The UK has today committed to bringing UN sanctions on Iran due to lift in October into UK law.
Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), a range of UN, EU and UK sanctions were due to be lifted on October 18th. These include sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Iran’s missile, nuclear, and other weapons programs.
In response to continued Iranian non-compliance with their JCPoA commitments and ongoing nuclear escalation, the E3 have confirmed today that the UN sanctions will be transferred into domestic sanctions regimes and the EU and UK sanctions will be maintained.
FCDO spokesperson said:
Iran continues to breach its commitments under the JCPoA and advance its nuclear programme beyond all credible civilian justification.
Alongside our French and German partners, we have taken a legitimate and proportionate step in response to Iran’s actions.
The UK and our partners remain committed to a diplomatic solution but Iran must now take clear steps towards de-escalation. We are committed to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Today’s actions do not violate the JCPoA and are fully consistent with the procedures defined within it. Iran has consistently breached its obligations under the JCPoA. The regime’s enriched uranium stockpiles are more than 18 times the JCPoA limit and it has built and deployed thousands of advanced centrifuges.
In March last year and again in August, the UK and our partners offered Iran viable deals that would have defused the nuclear issue. On both occasions Iran declined.
The UK and our partners remain committed to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through the snapback process if necessary.
Further information
- The E3 triggered the JCPoA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) in January 2020 in response to Iranian non-compliance to try to find a solution. The DRM process is supposed to allow 30 days to resolve outstanding issues; it has been over three and a half years and Iran remains out of compliance.
- According to Paragraph 36 of the JCPoA, these unresolved issues are grounds to cease performing part of our commitments.
Source – UK Government