![UN Security Council members vote on a resolution by Russia and China to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, September 26, 2025 [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]](https://businessday.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Untitled-design-2025-09-28T131646.234-1.png)
The United Nations has reinstated sweeping sanctions on Iran, including an arms embargo, after European powers triggered a process accusing Tehran of breaching its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.
The move, backed by Britain, France and Germany, comes after months of failed diplomacy and follows Israeli and U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year. It marks the formal collapse of an agreement once seen as a breakthrough in relations between Iran and the West.
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UN sanctions that had been lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are now back in force. These include bans on arms sales, uranium enrichment and ballistic missile development, along with travel restrictions and asset freezes targeting dozens of Iranian officials and entities.
“All countries are now required to enforce these measures,” the E3 foreign ministers said in a joint statement late Saturday, urging Tehran to “return to compliance” with international nuclear obligations.
The European powers had offered Iran a six-month reprieve to negotiate a new framework if it restored access for UN inspectors and reduced enriched uranium stockpiles. But talks held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York collapsed without progress.
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Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president condemned the sanctions as “unfair, unjust, and illegal” but insisted Tehran would not abandon the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran also recalled its ambassadors from London, Paris and Berlin for consultations, warning of a “harsh response” to the snapback.
Tehran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons, saying its programme is peaceful and aimed at developing civilian energy. But its decision to expand enrichment after Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the JCPOA in 2018 fuelled concerns it is edging closer to weapons capability.
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Israel welcomed the development, calling it “a major step” in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. “The goal is clear: the world must use every tool to achieve this,” its foreign ministry said.
Washington also backed the sanctions. Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state stressed that while diplomacy remained on the table, “Iran must accept direct talks held in good faith” for a new deal to be possible. Until then, he said, sanctions were essential to pressure Iran’s leaders.
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Russia, however, rejected the UN move as illegitimate. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of abusing UN mechanisms and warned it would be “a major mistake” for secretary-general Antonio Guterres to acknowledge the sanctions.
The reimposition comes as Iran’s economy reels under existing U.S. measures. The rial currency plunged to a record low of 1,123,000 to the dollar on Saturday, fuelling fears of deepening hardship for ordinary Iranians.
With sanctions now back in place, Iran faces renewed isolation from the global economy and tighter restrictions on its nuclear industry. Analysts warn the development could heighten tensions across the Middle East, where Iran’s regional allies have repeatedly clashed with Israel and U.S. forces.
Despite the escalation, the E3 stressed that sanctions were not intended as a final rupture. “The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy,” the ministers said, adding that negotiations remain possible if Tehran chooses to engage.
