Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on his social media page in an advice directed at the three European countries that if the E3 triggers the snapback mechanism, it will lose its last card.

"It is not just that the E3 has no legal, political, or moral entitlement to invoke 'snapback', and that even if they did, 'use or lose it' doesn't work," the top Iranian diplomat wrote on X.

"It's that the correct expression for the E3's dilemma is 'use it *and* lose it'. Or better yet, 'use it and lose it *all*'," he stressed.

The “snapback” mechanism was introduced under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 as part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It allows participants in the deal to restore previous UN sanctions against Iran if Tehran is alleged to have violated its commitments. However, Tehran insists that the three European signatories — Britain, France, and Germany — have already failed to honor their own obligations under the JCPOA, particularly regarding sanctions relief and normalization of economic ties. Iran’s position is that since the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, Washington lost any standing to use the mechanism, and Europe, by following the US lead, has forfeited its credibility as well. Iranian officials stress that attempts to misuse the “snapback” not only lack legal and political validity but will also further isolate Europe, demonstrating that Western governments cannot be trusted to abide by international agreements.