M. K. Bhadrakumar
September 5, 2025
September 5, 2025
Indications are that Israel with the support of Washington is spoiling for a fight with Iran as the E3 moves for snapback sanctions against Tehran
Iran’s attack on Haifa oil refineries on the night of June 15-16, 2025. (Hanay/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 4.0)
There is extremely alarming news about the situation around Iran.
In consultations with the Trump administration -- rather, in deference to the command from Washington -- the E3 countries (Britain, France and Germany) who are the remaining western signatories of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as JCPOA, have initiated the process of triggering the so-called snapback mechanism with the aim to reimpose all U.N. sanctions against Iran on the plea that it has breached the terms of the ten-year old agreement.
A joint statement issued in the three European capitals on Aug. 25 notified the U.N. Security Council that Tehran is “in significant non-performance of its commitments under the JCPOA” to give a 30-day notice “before the possible reestablishment of previously terminated United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The E3 statement is patently an act of sophistry since it was the U.S. which unilaterally abandoned the JCOPA in 2018 and the three European powers themselves have been remiss in ignoring their own commitments to lift the sanctions against Iran through the past 15-year period, which only had ultimately prompted Tehran to resume the uranium enrichment activity -- although the Iranian side was ready to reinstate the JCOPA as recently as in December 2022.
A strange part of the E3 move is that they short-circuited the prescribed procedure in regard of the snapback mechanism with the intent to reduce the two other permanent member countries of the Security Council to be mere bystanders with no role whatsoever in the matter.
Unsurprisingly, Russia and China have taken exception to this and in a lengthy statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded (with China’s backing) an extension of the timeline by another six months by the Security Council as an interim measure so as to avoid a standoff with dangerous and tragic consequences.
Tehran has welcomed the Russia-China proposal as a “practical step.” Iran, of course, has explicitly warned that any such attempt by the E3 to reimpose the U.N. sanctions against it may compel it to reconsider its membership of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
It remains to be seen whether the E3 -- or more precisely, the U.S.-Israeli nexus which is the driving force behind the precipitate move -- will be amenable to a compromise.
All indications are that Israel with the full support of the Trump administration is spoiling for a fight with Iran and making a second attempt to force regime change in Tehran and the restoration of the erstwhile Pahlavi dynasty to replace the Islamic system that got established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Simply put, it is a make-or-break attempt by the U.S. and Israel to bring about a geopolitical realignment in the West Asian region.
The U.S. and Israel have drawn lessons out of the miserable failure of their first attempt in June to overthrow the Islamic system in Iran, and Israel suffered huge losses as Iran retaliated.
This time around, the U.S. and Israel seem to be preparing for a fight to the finish, although the outcome remains to be seen. Indeed, a protracted war may ensue. The U.S. is rearming Israel with advanced weaponry. At some point, early enough in the war, a direct American intervention in some form can also be expected.
Read complete article in Consortium News.
In consultations with the Trump administration -- rather, in deference to the command from Washington -- the E3 countries (Britain, France and Germany) who are the remaining western signatories of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as JCPOA, have initiated the process of triggering the so-called snapback mechanism with the aim to reimpose all U.N. sanctions against Iran on the plea that it has breached the terms of the ten-year old agreement.
A joint statement issued in the three European capitals on Aug. 25 notified the U.N. Security Council that Tehran is “in significant non-performance of its commitments under the JCPOA” to give a 30-day notice “before the possible reestablishment of previously terminated United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The E3 statement is patently an act of sophistry since it was the U.S. which unilaterally abandoned the JCOPA in 2018 and the three European powers themselves have been remiss in ignoring their own commitments to lift the sanctions against Iran through the past 15-year period, which only had ultimately prompted Tehran to resume the uranium enrichment activity -- although the Iranian side was ready to reinstate the JCOPA as recently as in December 2022.
A strange part of the E3 move is that they short-circuited the prescribed procedure in regard of the snapback mechanism with the intent to reduce the two other permanent member countries of the Security Council to be mere bystanders with no role whatsoever in the matter.
Unsurprisingly, Russia and China have taken exception to this and in a lengthy statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded (with China’s backing) an extension of the timeline by another six months by the Security Council as an interim measure so as to avoid a standoff with dangerous and tragic consequences.
Tehran has welcomed the Russia-China proposal as a “practical step.” Iran, of course, has explicitly warned that any such attempt by the E3 to reimpose the U.N. sanctions against it may compel it to reconsider its membership of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
It remains to be seen whether the E3 -- or more precisely, the U.S.-Israeli nexus which is the driving force behind the precipitate move -- will be amenable to a compromise.
All indications are that Israel with the full support of the Trump administration is spoiling for a fight with Iran and making a second attempt to force regime change in Tehran and the restoration of the erstwhile Pahlavi dynasty to replace the Islamic system that got established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Simply put, it is a make-or-break attempt by the U.S. and Israel to bring about a geopolitical realignment in the West Asian region.
The U.S. and Israel have drawn lessons out of the miserable failure of their first attempt in June to overthrow the Islamic system in Iran, and Israel suffered huge losses as Iran retaliated.
This time around, the U.S. and Israel seem to be preparing for a fight to the finish, although the outcome remains to be seen. Indeed, a protracted war may ensue. The U.S. is rearming Israel with advanced weaponry. At some point, early enough in the war, a direct American intervention in some form can also be expected.
Read complete article in Consortium News.