Tehran, Sep 27 Iran has recalled its ambassadors to France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, following their launch of a mechanism to reinstate international sanctions on Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
In a statement, the ministry condemned E3's decision to trigger the "snapback" mechanism as "irresponsible," adding that the ambassadors were summoned to Tehran for consultations.
Last month, the E3 formally invoked the mechanism, which allows for the reimposition of UN sanctions within 30 days if Iran is deemed in breach of the 2015 nuclear deal.
On September 19, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have extended sanctions relief for Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Xinhua news agency reported. A subsequent resolution, which sought to grant a six-month extension to both the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 that endorses the accord, also failed to pass in the UN Security Council on Friday. The rejection means that sanctions that were lifted under the deal will be re-imposed starting on Saturday evening.
The JCPOA, signed in July 2015 by Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- has been under strain since Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018, which prompted Tehran to gradually scale back its commitments.
Friday's draft resolution, tabled by China and Russia, received four votes in favour, nine votes against and two abstentions, falling short of the nine positive votes required for adoption.
Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia voted in favour of Friday's draft resolution. Guyana and the Republic of Korea abstained. The remaining nine members of the Security Council voted against it.
Britain, France, and Germany -- the three European countries (E3) of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- claimed they have triggered the snapback mechanism on August 28 by notifying the Security Council of Tehran's "significant non-performance."
Under Resolution 2231, the UN sanctions in place before the adoption of the resolution would resume 30 days after the notification, unless the Security Council adopts a resolution to decide otherwise. The September 19 draft resolution to that effect failed.
Friday's voting result was exactly the same on a draft resolution put forward by the Republic of Korea on September 19 in its capacity as Security Council president for the month of September.
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