TEHRAN (Iran News) The foreign ministers of Iran, China, and Russia have written a joint letter rejecting the three European countries’ move to trigger the “snapback mechanism” that would restore United Nations sanctions against Tehran. The letter, addressed to the UN secretary general and the president of the UN Security Council (UNSC), calls on the Council to consider Europe’s move null and void.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday announced on his X account that he and his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, signed the joint letter in Tianjin, China, where they had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

The joint letter comes after the E3 – namely Britain, France, and Germany, which are members of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – informed the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (August 28) that they had triggered the “snapback” mechanism that would restore UN sanctions lifted under the JCPOA, citing what they called non-compliance by Iran.

The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 during the first term of President Donald Trump. Iran began reciprocal measures a year later, after the European parties to the deal failed to compensate for the US pullout.

The joint letter by the Iranian, Russian, and Chinese top diplomats explains that the E3 measure lacks any legal basis because it is contrary to the procedures set out in the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 that endorsed it.

“The action by the foreign ministers of the three European countries (E3) is clearly inconsistent with the above resolution and is therefore inherently flawed both legally and procedurally. The path pursued by the E3 misuses the authority and functions of the UN Security Council, while simultaneously misleading its members and the international community regarding the root causes of the disruption in the implementation of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231,” according to the letter, parts of which were released on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.”Iran-Russia-China”

The letter also states that the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and Europe’s failure to mitigate its consequences bar any use of the dispute resolution mechanism against Iran. It stresses that, under international law, the European countries, having committed material breaches, cannot claim the rights or mechanisms of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231.”Iran-Russia-China”

“Iran’s reciprocal measures, including the suspension of its JCPOA commitments, were taken specifically in response to the US withdrawal and its total violation of its obligations under the JCPOA, and only after a sustained period of Iran’s continued compliance and the failure of the E3/EU in remedying the situation,” said the letter.”Iran-Russia-China”

“The reciprocal steps taken by Iran cannot serve as a basis for activating the ‘snapback’ mechanism. It is unacceptable that this mechanism be abused to reward the US withdrawal and the subsequent non-compliance of the E3/EU with their commitments, including those outlined in the statement issued following the Joint Commission meeting of 25 May 2018.”

The letter emphasized that the JCPOA is integral to Resolution 2231, and the E3 cannot appeal to the Security Council without completing the agreement’s dispute resolution process. Since the E3 failed to do so, their correspondence cannot be considered a valid notification under paragraph 11 of Resolution 2231. Re-imposing annulled Security Council sanctions is illogical and unreasonable, as the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran’s compliance with its JCPOA commitments, said the letter.

In light of these reasons, the Iranian, Russian, and Chinese foreign ministers said “the Security Council cannot act on the basis of the letter submitted by the E3 and must consider it null and void. Any step or measure taken in disregard, or in violation, of Resolution 2231 cannot create binding international legal obligations for UN Member States,” according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Iran, China, and Russia urged Security Council members to reject the E3’s notification, reaffirm commitment to the principles of international law and multilateral diplomacy, while advising the E3 to avoid actions undermining the Security Council’s unity. They asked the UN secretary-general to circulate the joint letter as an official document.

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The presidents of Iran and Russia had an “in-depth” telephone conversation on Tuesday in which they discussed a number of issues ranging from Afghanistan and Syria to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and a cooperation document expected to raise Tehran-Moscow ties to a new level.

Iranian and Russian readouts of the conversation both confirmed the extensive nature of the call, with the Russian one describing it as “in-depth.”

Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi appreciated the phone call of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and expressed Iran’s willingness to develop trade and economic relations with Russia.

The Iranian president then voiced Iran’s readiness to finalize the cooperation document. “We are ready to finalize a comprehensive document on long-term cooperation between the two countries so that the process of further development of the relations and cooperation between the two countries can be implemented as soon as possible,” Ayatollah Raisi told President Putin.

Underlining convergence and synergy between Tehran and Moscow on many international issues, the Iranian president stressed the need for cooperation between the two countries on regional issues, and said, “We consider the continued presence of outsiders in Syria against the will of the Syrian people and government and illegal because it threatens the stability and security of the country,” according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

Referring to the developments in Afghanistan, Ayatollah Raisi reiterated Iran’s position that an inclusive government should be formed in Kabul. “The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to establish an all-inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic and political groups, and we believe that the formation of such a government can guarantee the security of the country,” he said.

In addition to Syria and Afghanistan, the two presidents discussed other issues of mutual interest such as the tense situation in the South Caucasus region, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On the Caucasus, Ayatollah Raisi told Putin that “any change in the geopolitical state and changing the borders of the countries in the region is not acceptable.”

On the other side, Putin spoke about Russia’s measures to ensure the ceasefire, unblock economic and transport links and establish peaceful life in the region, according to the Kremlin.

Putin also expressed concern over the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to the Iranian statement about the call. He also said, “To increase the level of trust and cooperation in the region, we seek to launch a 3+3 consultative mechanism, and we hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports it.”

Part of the conversation was on the JCPOA. The Russian president expressed support for the rights of the Iranian people on the nuclear issue and expressed hope that in future negotiations, the parties would have sufficient political will to get out of the current situation.

The Kremlin said Russia and Iran are advocating the comprehensive implementation of the JCPOA within the initially coordinated framework. Putin also expressed hope that the talks on this issue would be constructive.

The scope of conversation once again indicated the extent to which Tehran and Moscow could cooperate. Both countries have a complicated web of joint interests that would be better served with further strengthening of bilateral relations. To this end, Raisi and Putin underlined the need to further boost bilateral ties.

The Iranian president voiced Tehran’s readiness to finalize the comprehensive document. The Russian president, in turn, underlined that Moscow attaches great importance to improving the level of economic relations and finalizing joint investment programs with Iran. He added, “Moscow supports Tehran’s proposals in drafting a new document on long-term cooperation between the two countries, and we are determined to make it finalized and implemented as soon as possible.”

President Putin noted, “We are witnessing positive inclinations for increasing the level of bilateral, regional and international cooperation, and there is no doubt that the development of cooperation will accelerate.”

The comprehensive document, if finalized, would be the second major Iranian agreement with non-Western powers after the 25-year partnership plan between Tehran and Beijing.

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Iran, Russia, and China started a naval wargame, codenamed “Marine Security Belt”, in the Sea of Oman and the north of the Indian Ocean on Friday morning that will last for four days.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari’s remarks came in a news-analytic conference to explain the specifications of the large-scale drill.

The joint military exercise is viewed by some analysts as a show of power and solidarity between Iran and the great powers of China and Russia in the face of pressure by Washington.

Some media in Iran referred to the war game as a “show of power by the Easterners”.

“We can restore security to the region, so, there is no need to alien forces’ presence in our region,” underscored Sayyari who was Navy chief until November 2017.

“In the current drill we will definitely realize a method on which we will count in our next trilateral wargames,” the commander pointed out.

“The ongoing drills have been staged to show the might of the Army’s naval force in the region as well as the world,” Sayyari said.

He further highlighted the importance of the northern part of the Indian Ocean which is located between the three straits of Hormuz, Bab al Mandab, and Malaga, saying, “Iran enjoys 1,000 kilometers of maritime border overlooking the northern Indian Ocean, therefore deployment of the Iranian forces to the Macran coasts is completely justifiable.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the commander said, “Before the Islamic revolution in 1979, our navy was a force inside the territorial waters, but now we are hosting two world powers’ naval forces.”

Iranian navy has escorted almost 5,000 trade vessels 

Sayyari went on to say that the Iranian navy has thus far managed to escort approximately 5,000 trade vessels and tankers, adding, “The navy, meantime, has staged 30 rescue operations to save in-danger international vessels.”

“Iran has proved our naval might to the world, that is why the naval forces of the two world powers of Russia and China have come to our region to take part in a large-scale wargame under Iran’s command,” Sayyari stated.

The commander said, “As we proved in the previous drills, we won’t allow anybody to approach to the wargame’s operational region for spying.”

Sayyari said that the current drill is only a joint operation and the navies participating in the drill do not intend to form a coalition. “However,” he said, “the U.S. has always been trying to pretend the region as unsafe to pave the ground for forming a coalition.”

On Friday, Rear Admiral Gholamreza Tahani, the deputy commander of the Iranian Navy, said the exercise will cover 17,000 square kilometers and consist of “various tactical exercises,” which include target practice and rescuing ships from assaults and fires.

“Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, it is the first time that the country has staged such a large-scale drill participated with two huge naval powers in the world,” Tahani stated.

Tahani said certainly those countries that share security, economic, political, and defense interests try to restore collective security in the region together.

“Reinvigoration of international maritime trade, countering piracy, exchange of information and experiences in various fields including maritime rescue and relief are among the main objectives of the drill,” Tahani added.

Rear Admiral Tahani said peace, friendship and sustainable security under collective unity and cooperation are the main messages of the current naval drill.

“The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity … and its effect will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated.”

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