TEHRAN — Sweeping UN economic and military sanctions have been reimposed on Iran, 10 years after they were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The move came after the UK, France, and Germany activated the “snapback” mechanism, accusing Iran of “continued nuclear escalation” and non-cooperation.

Iran suspended inspections of its nuclear facilities after the US and Israel bombed several nuclear sites and military bases in June.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said last week that Tehran had no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

Pezeshkian described the reintroduction of sanctions as “unfair, unjust, and illegal,” calling it a fresh blow to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), once hailed as a breakthrough in Western relations with Iran.

The JCPOA placed limits on Iran’s nuclear facilities, enriched uranium stockpiles, and research in return for sanctions relief, allowing Tehran to pursue nuclear power without advancing toward weaponry.

Iran ramped up banned nuclear activities after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.

He has long argued the agreement, brokered under Barack Obama, was flawed.

The US and Israeli strikes in June aimed to slow Iran’s nuclear advances and punish Tehran for arming proxies attacking Israel.

Trump said the bombings caused “monumental damage,” though others questioned their effectiveness.

Iran said the strikes “fundamentally changed the situation” and rendered support for the JCPOA “obsolete.”

The European partners urged Iran “to refrain from any escalatory action,” stressing the return of sanctions was “not the end of diplomacy.”

Talks with Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week failed to prevent the sanctions’ reimposition.

The E3 foreign ministers said they had “no choice” but to act, citing Iran’s refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Inspectors were barred from nuclear sites until this week, when the IAEA confirmed inspections had resumed.

Iran rejected the sanctions as “illegal” and warned that any move against its people’s rights would face a “firm and appropriate response.”

Pezeshkian has pulled back from threats to exit the Non-Proliferation Treaty but warned that renewed sanctions jeopardize negotiations.

He demanded assurances that Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities would stop and rejected a US proposal to surrender enriched uranium stockpiles in exchange for temporary sanction relief.

Western powers remain skeptical of Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is peaceful. — BBC