France threatens Iran over snapping back sanctions

The French Foreign Minister threatened Iran to re-impose multilateral sanctions.

 Iran press/ Europe: Jean-Yves Le Drian said that France is investigating the announcement of a dispute settlement mechanism known as the 'Grim Trigger Mechanism', referring to the scale-back measures of Iran toward the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The French FM has threatened Iran over using the grim trigger mechanism, while the European parties of the JCPOA have already fulfilled none of their commitments to the international nuclear deal. The grim trigger mechanism is one of the JCPOA provisions which could make the UN sanctions against Iran return.

After the US scrapping the deal on May 8, 2018, UK, France, and Germany promised Iran to ensure the country's economic interests, but the E3 countries failed to keep the deal under US pressure. With the US unilateral withdrawal and re-imposition of sanctions on Iran and as the European side failed to implement its obligations toward Iran, Tehran started incremental reduction of its commitments under the nuclear agreement, a year later on May 8, 2019. Iran has already taken 4 scaling back steps toward the JCPOA under the articles 26 and 36 of the deal.

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US withdrawal from JCPOA was foolish: NY Times

Under Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, if the other parties fail to comply with their obligations, Iran has the right to suspend its obligations in whole or in part.

Reducing Iran's commitments is through four steps includes: Raising its uranium enrichment rate to 3.67 percent, increasing its uranium reserves, stopping all its R&D commitments, and starting uranium enrichment and reprocessing at Fordow's nuclear facilities. 207

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