The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a new round of sanctions on Iran in support of “snapback” United Nations Security Council penalties on the country that mark the formal end of the Obama-era nuclear deal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is designating dozens of individuals and entities involved in Iran’s nuclear program, its weapons procurement networks, and military aircraft programs. The U.S. is also adding new export restrictions on 26 entities and three addresses linked to Iran’s procurement efforts, the secretary said.
“The United States today announces the imposition of sanctions in support of the ‘snapback’ of U.N. sanctions and restrictions on Iran for ‘significant non-performance’ of its nuclear commitments,” Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, said in a statement.
“The actions announced today show that Iran is actively attempting to procure components and technologies in support of its proliferation programs.”
The move by the U.S. follows a decision by France, Germany and the United Kingdom to invoke the “snapback” mechanism to reimpose U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The three European countries faced an October deadline to reimpose sanctions under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2019, and Iran remained a party to the agreement until 2020. While Trump earlier this year engaged Iran in talks over their nuclear program, the president joined Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear program in June. Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, said last week the U.S. is still talking with Iran.
Over the past six years, the three European countries (E3) sought to keep JCPOA alive and negotiate with Iran to return to the terms of the deal. The countries delayed invoking the snapback mechanism until the last possible moment, on Sept. 29.
“The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy,” the countries said in a statement on Monday.
“We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action and to return to compliance with its legally binding safeguards obligations. The E3 will continue to work with all parties towards a new diplomatic solution to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”