Britain, France, Germany Won't Lift Iran Sanctions Set to Expire Soon

The EU said in a statement that Britain, France, and Germany do not intend to lift the sanctions against Iran, which were supposed to expire on October 18th.

Josep Borrell, the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, announced in a statement on Friday that he has received a letter from the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom informing him about an issue concerning the implementation of Iran’s commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“The Foreign Ministers stated that Iran has been in non-compliance since 2019 and considered that this has not been resolved through the JCPoA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM). They expressed their intention not to take the steps regarding the lifting of further sanctions on JCPoA Transition Day on 18 October 2023,” reads the statement.

Borrell's reference is to one of the sunset clauses of the JCPOA, according to which on October 18, the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Iran, which included missile and arms sanctions, were supposed to be lifted.

Based on Annexes of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the European Union had agreed to lift the sanctions on Iran in the eighth year of the JCPOA's implementation.

One year after former US President Donald Trump decided to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA and impose sanctions on Tehran, Iran gradually stepped away from its commitments within the framework of the JCPOA by increasing the level of uranium enrichment.

Negotiations to revive the JCPOA, aimed at bringing Iran to its commitments within the agreement, came to a halt last year without results. After the failure of the talks, the United States accused Iran indirectly of non-JCPOA-related demands.