China opposes E3 'snapback' move against Iran, calls for greater diplomatic efforts

China explicitly opposes the move by France, Britain and Germany (E3) of using the snapback mechanism to reinstate sanctions on Iran, and calls for further diplomatic efforts on the Iran nuclear issue, a Chinese envoy said on Wednesday.

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the IAEA, made the remarks at the Board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Li said such move will not help rebuild trust and resume talks, and may instead lead to disastrous consequences and destroy diplomatic efforts.

The Iran nuclear issue can only be properly resolved on the premise of fully respecting Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, and supplemented by strict international inspection under the framework of the IAEA, Li said.

On Aug. 28, the E3 countries notified the United Nations (UN) Security Council that they had triggered the "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, raising the possibility of reinstating UN sanctions on Iran in 30 days.

Li also noted that in June this year, the United States and Israel blatantly launched military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities subject to IAEA safeguards, which seriously undermined diplomatic efforts on the Iran nuclear issue and seriously interfered with Iran's safeguards cooperation with the IAEA. China firmly opposes hegemonic bullying and urges the United States and Israel not to abuse military force, Li said.

The Chinese envoy said China will continue to work with all parties in a principled, responsible and constructive manner to bring back on track the political and diplomatic process of the Iran nuclear issue, and firmly safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The snapback mechanism is a clause in a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers that would allow the other parties to re-impose all international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2015 with six countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to gradually reduce compliance with its nuclear commitments.