NEW YORK – The United Nations will reimpose sweeping economic and military sanctions on Iran at midnight GMT on Sunday, a decade after they were lifted under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
The move follows a formal complaint by Britain, France, and Germany accusing Tehran of breaching its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Their action triggered a 30-day deadline for Iran to resolve the dispute—one that expired without progress.
A last-ditch bid led by China and Russia to delay the measures for six months failed at the UN Security Council, winning only four votes out of 15.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denounced the sanctions as “unfair, unjust, and illegal,” warning they would deepen instability in the Middle East.
“We will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” Pezeshkian told journalists at the UN this week, accusing Western powers of using Iran’s nuclear programme as a “superficial pretext to set the region ablaze.”
He added that Tehran would remain in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but demanded guarantees that its nuclear facilities would not be targeted by Israel.
The sanctions package includes an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment, restrictions on ballistic missile activity, asset freezes, travel bans on senior Iranian officials, and authorisation for countries to inspect cargo from Iran Air and Iran Shipping Lines. EU sanctions are expected to follow next week.
Tensions have surged since June, when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military bases after indirect US-Iran negotiations collapsed.
In response, Iran barred inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until this week, when limited monitoring resumed.
Iran maintains its nuclear programme is peaceful, while Western governments and the IAEA remain unconvinced.
Speaking at the UN on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi lashed out at Western capitals.
“The United States has betrayed diplomacy, but it is the E3—Britain, Germany, and France—that has buried it,” he said, dismissing renewed talks with Washington as “a pure dead end.”
The sanctions return as Russia deepens ties with Tehran, signing a $25 billion deal on Friday to build four nuclear power reactors in southern Iran, according to state media.
The measures are expected to add fresh strain to an already volatile standoff, with Tehran warning that renewed sanctions could derail cooperation with the IAEA altogether.
