WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and John Cornyn (R-Texas), today sent a letter to Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul, German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, and David Lammy, British Secretary of State, urging them to immediately trigger snapback sanctions on Iran following continued Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear agreement and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The lawmakers wrote, “Iran’s ejection of the International Atomic Energy Agency from its facilities marked the latest in a long chain of violations to Iran’s nuclear commitments. These actions confirm what we have known all along: the Iranian nuclear program is not civilian; it is the pursuit of a bomb to destroy Israel and threaten U.S. national security interests in the region. The international community must not tolerate this activity any longer.”
The lawmakers continued, “…We implore you to immediately trigger snapback sanctions pursuant to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231. Initiating the snapback process would be the right—and long overdue—move and would deny Iran the resources it uses for its terror agenda.”
Full text of the letter can be found here and below:
In the wake of continued Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear agreement and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we implore you to immediately trigger snapback sanctions pursuant to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231.
Initiating the snapback process would be the right—and long overdue—move and would deny Iran the resources it uses for its terror agenda. The 2015 deal flooded Iran with cash while allowing it low-level enrichment, a clock to simply wait out, no limitations on ballistic missiles, and nothing to rein in terror proxies. Years down the line, the sanctions relief Iran received from this deal directly funded Iran’s terror proxies and led to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Iran’s ejection of the International Atomic Energy Agency from its facilities marked the latest in a long chain of violations to Iran’s nuclear commitments. These actions confirm what we have known all along: the Iranian nuclear program is not civilian; it is the pursuit of a bomb to destroy Israel and threaten U.S. national security interests in the region. The international community must not tolerate this activity any longer.
The decision to initiate the snapback process is only the beginning. The UNSC must fully process and formally re-instate UN sanctions without delay. This will take several weeks, and the October expiration of the snapback mechanism is looming.
Furthermore, once sanctions are back in place, we must commit to their enforcement. Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and illicit oil smuggling through third countries have long violated existing U.S. secondary sanctions. Once UN sanctions return, all member countries will have a duty to crack down on this illegal activity.
President Trump has instituted a maximum pressure policy to bring Iran to the negotiating table. It is our sincere hope that our allies will stand side by side with America as we counter Iran’s threat to regional and global security for good.
We look forward to your response.
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