August 16, 2025

The heat is on at the United Nations! On Friday, China openly opposed bringing back sanctions on Iran over its nuclear plans. This came after three powerful Western countries – Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3 – warned they would reimpose sanctions if no diplomatic deal is reached by the end of August. Remember, European sanctions on Iran were relaxed after the 2015 nuclear deal, in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear programme. But on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the E3 sent a joint letter to UN Chief Antonio Guterres and the Security Council threatening to bring sanctions back. China, however, fired back quickly. A spokesperson from Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, said, "We oppose invoking sanctions and believe that it does not help parties build trust." He added that reimposing sanctions "was not conducive to the diplomatic effort for the early resumption of talks." Iran is not standing alone. On Thursday, Iran revealed it was working closely with China and Russia to block the return of sanctions. Meanwhile, European countries have grown more worried about Iran halting cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog. The tensions come right after a 12-day war in June, when Israel attacked Iran, aiming to destroy its nuclear capability. The United States also launched its own bombing raids during this conflict. In their Wednesday letter, the E3 ministers said Iran violated the 2015 deal by building up uranium stocks more than 40 times the permitted level. Yet, they promised, "The E3 remain fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis caused by Iran’s nuclear programme and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution." A quick flashback: The 2015 nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), started falling apart after US President Donald Trump pulled out in 2018 and applied fresh sanctions. The European countries tried hard to keep the deal alive. The agreement includes a "snapback mechanism," allowing sanctions to return if needed. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called the possible return of sanctions "negative" but said the feared economic hits were "exaggerated." Talking to state TV Thursday, he said, "We will try to prevent it. If this does not work and they apply it, we have tools to respond. We will discuss them in due course." Earlier, Araghchi also wrote to the UN saying European nations don’t have the legal right to restore sanctions, but European ministers dismissed this claim as "unfounded." China’s Lin concluded on Friday, hoping any moves by the Security Council should "help reach new agreements in talks, instead of the opposite." The world waits with bated breath as this high-stakes drama continues to unfold.

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Tags: Iran nuclear sanctions, China opposition, E3 countries, Un security council, Jcpoa deal, Iran-china-russia cooperation,