Iran Faces Renewed UN Sanctions Amid Escalating Tensions

Fri Oct 03 2025 03:50:06 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have reimposed sanctions on Iran due to concerns over its nuclear activities, urging the nation to seek diplomatic engagement rather than escalating tensions.

As the UN sanctions against Iran are reinstated, the UK, France, and Germany have urged Tehran to avoid escalating tensions and pursue negotiations. Iran's President has condemned these sanctions as unfair, asserting that the country has no intentions of developing nuclear weapons. The sanctions mark a significant turning point in Iran's nuclear negotiations following years of dialogue and are considered a response to Iran’s non-compliance with nuclear regulations.

The UK, France, and Germany have called on Iran not to escalate tensions and to pursue negotiations after UN sanctions were reinstated on Saturday.

The three countries said they had no choice but to bring back the sweeping measures against Tehran as a last resort over its continued nuclear escalation and lack of cooperation.

We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action, they said in a joint statement, adding: The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted last week that the country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons and condemned the re-imposition of international sanctions as unfair, unjust, and illegal.

The United Nations' sweeping economic and military sanctions were reimposed on Iran at 00:00 GMT on Saturday—ten years after they were lifted in a landmark international deal over its nuclear programme.

Iran stepped up banned nuclear activity after the US quit the deal in 2016. Donald Trump pulled the US out in his first term as president, criticizing the deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—as flawed.

Talks between the three countries and Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week failed to produce a deal which would have delayed the sanctions being reimposed.

In a joint statement early on Sunday, the foreign ministers of the three European countries, known as the E3, said: Given that Iran repeatedly breached these commitments, the E3 had no choice but to trigger the snapback procedure, at the end of which those resolutions were brought back into force.

They cited Iran's failure to take the necessary actions to address our concerns, nor to meet our asks on extension, despite extensive dialogue. Specifically, they mentioned Tehran's refusal to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

Iran has not authorized IAEA inspectors to regain access to Iran's nuclear sites nor has it produced and transmitted to the IAEA a report accounting for its stockpile of high-enriched uranium.

Despite tensions, Pezeshkian has indicated a desire for a sustainable dialogue but demands reassurances regarding the safety of Iran's nuclear facilities. He rejected a US demand to hand over all of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium for a temporary exemption from sanctions, stating, Why would we put ourselves in such a trap?