The word ‘snapback’ does not exist in the JCPOA: Tehran
TEHRAN (Iran News) Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the term “snapback” is not mentioned anywhere in the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and was invented by Western countries to justify reimposing sanctions in case of disputes.
“The word ‘snapback’ is not in the JCPOA. It’s a term they fabricated so that in the event of a violation, the other side could activate a dispute resolution process leading to the reinstatement of previous UN resolutions,” Baqaei said on Wednesday in a meeting with students at Razavi University of Islamic Sciences in Mashhad.
He dismissed recent remarks by former US negotiator Wendy Sherman about the issue, saying, “Much of what Wendy Sherman has said regarding snapback is lies.”
“Our problem is that we accept the words of foreigners and use them to blame our own people, while the enemy’s malice and bad faith should not make us question our own performance.”
Baqaei emphasized that neither side trusted the other during the negotiations, rejecting claims that the so-called snapback mechanism was imposed on Iran.
“The other side said they did not trust Iran to fulfill its commitments, and if Iran violated them, they needed a safeguard. Our guarantee was our nuclear assets, which were in our own hands,” he explained.
Under the JCPOA, if one party believes another is not honoring its commitments, it can trigger a dispute resolution mechanism. Iran maintains that this mechanism was designed mutually and not imposed.
Baqaei added, “In the JCPOA, we fulfilled our commitments in good faith, but we faced the other side’s bad faith and noncompliance. The text of the JCPOA is clear and straightforward.”
- source : irna
