Iran says oil sales not restricted under snapback mechanism

Iran said Wednesday that its oil sales will not be restricted if UN sanctions are reinstated under the so-called snapback mechanism.

Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad said the snapback mechanism “doesn’t directly discuss oil sales, but rather issues in other areas such as commercial, financial, sales, and sea transportation.”

“Oil sales continue, and we have no problem,” the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“It is natural that if we encounter a situation that requires taking measures, the necessary planning will be made,” the minister said.

European signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement – the UK, France, and Germany – triggered the snapback mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 on Aug. 28, after Iran halted cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, claiming a biased stance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against it.

Iran denounced the European move as legally baseless and politically motivated.

Tension escalated regarding Iran’s nuclear program after Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran on June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. The 12-day conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.