What measures might Iran take if the Europeans activate the trigger mechanism?
Pars Today – An Iranian representative in the Majlis (parliament) elaborated on Iran's measures in case European countries activate the snapback mechanism.
The European trio, comprising France, the UK, and Germany, recently sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General reiterating their previous allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. They expressed readiness to activate the so-called "snapback" mechanism if Iran does not resume negotiations with the U.S. and the international community regarding its nuclear program. But what will Iran do if this mechanism is triggered?
In this regard, as reported by Pars Today, citing Khabar Online, Ahmad Naderi, a member of the presiding board of Iran's Majlis, stated: "If the Europeans continue their policy of increasing pressure, Iran will take necessary and appropriate measures."
Naderi emphasized: "For example, withdrawing from the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) is one such measure. Therefore, the leaders of these countries should know that the game they have started is doomed to fail, and the Islamic Republic has kept multiple cards up its sleeve that it will use."
On the other hand, the American think tank Stimson wrote in a report that a pivot toward Asia could help Iran reduce the economic pressure from Western countries.
In this context, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, recently addressed Europe's threats to activate the snapback mechanism, stating: "The Europeans are not qualified to discuss or implement any part of the JCPOA, including snapback, and there is a legal challenge between us and Europe." He added: "There are various tools for this, and we are cooperating with China and Russia. If they proceed, we have response measures that will be announced at the appropriate time."
Earlier, Araghchi, after the Istanbul meeting in July, told the Financial Times that the European trio has no "legal or moral basis" to trigger the snapback mechanism. He warned that if this process is carried out, European powers would be excluded from future nuclear negotiations.
Kamran Ghazanfari, another Iranian MP, also commented on Iran's response to the snapback mechanism, saying: "In that case, Iran should withdraw from the NPT to show that it is not empty-handed. Ultimately, it will be the Western side that suffers because, before the Zionist regime's imposed war against Iran, they could monitor our nuclear program through the IAEA. But if Iran leaves the NPT and halts all cooperation with the agency, the status of Iran's nuclear program will become ambiguous to the West."
In recent years, Europe has exposed itself to Iran's reciprocal reactions by hosting anti-Iranian terrorist and separatist groups and detaining Iranian citizens without legal justification. Political experts believe that if the snapback mechanism is activated, Iran could more forcefully counter Europe's espionage and terrorist programs while attempting to manage tensions and steer regional equations back toward diplomacy.
