TEHRAN, September 29. /TASS/. Attempts by the E3 countries - the UK, Germany, and France - together with the US to trigger the snapback mechanism reinstating UN Security Council sanctions against Iran have no legal basis, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.

"The E3’s abuse of process cannot alter the legal reality: Resolution 2231 will be deemed terminated on October 18, 2025, as explicitly provided in the resolution itself," Baghaei wrote on X.

He added that the refusal of six out of fifteen UN Security Council members to support the move highlights divisions within the body. "Nearly half of its members are unconvinced that the E3-triggered reimposition is justified, legitimate, or legal," the spokesman noted.

Earlier, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, also criticized the sanctions as unlawful. "France, Germany and the UK claim that snapback successfully took place. However, the relevant procedure was gravely violated by the E3 and therefore Russia has all reasons to believe that snapback is null and void," the envoy wrote on X.

On Friday, the UN Security Council rejected a draft paper submitted by Russia and China to extend Resolution 2231, which underpins the Iranian nuclear deal, for six months. According to Barbara Woodward, the UK's permanent representative to the UN, sanctions against Iran will be reimposed later this week.