Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has written to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General, rejecting what he termed misinterpretations by France, Germany and the UK regarding the dispute resolution mechanism in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and matters related to Resolution 2231.

Aragchi’s comments come as France, Germany and the United Kingdom sent a letter on August 28 to UN Security Council members announcing they are triggering the "snapback" mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran that were suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The three European powers stated in the letter that during the next 30 days before sanctions take effect, they remain open to negotiations with Iran on a nuclear agreement that could halt the process. The snapback mechanism automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

In the letter, Araghchi stated the European troika's correspondence "creates a dangerous precedent in undermining the credibility and integrity of the Security Council and its resolutions," Iscanews reported on August 29.

The foreign minister argued that Iran formally activated the dispute resolution mechanism on May 10, 2018, which led to Joint Commission meetings at the political director and foreign minister levels on May 25 and July 6, 2018, respectively.

He said Iran exhausted all prescribed avenues before taking remedial measures in May 2019.

"The troika, by raising the issue of sequence, implicitly acknowledges that the order of triggering the dispute resolution mechanism by different parties is important, and actions taken under Paragraph 36 of the JCPOA cannot be the basis for justifying countermeasures by other parties," Araghchi wrote.

He challenged the troika's assertion that triggering the dispute mechanism requires recognition by all JCPOA members, stating this logic would invalidate the troika's own snapback attempt since it lacks explicit recognition from other members.

Araghchi maintained that Iran's remedial actions from May 2019 were legitimate responses taken one year after the US withdrawal and European non-compliance with their obligations. He firmly stated Resolution 2231 should expire according to its predetermined schedule.

The foreign minister again confirmed Iran's openness to diplomacy and meaningful engagement to reach a new agreement respecting Iran's NPT rights while addressing mutual concerns, including sanctions affecting Iranian citizens.

The fallout of the latest round of talks between the Europeans and Iranians comes after Donald Trump, in his first term as president in 2017, broke the agreement, saying he could get a better deal with Tehran and by the US initially breaking the terms of the JCPOA, the remaining signatories, including Europe, Russia and China were left to keep the deal alive with Iran.

Iranian currency markets have been under pressure with the rial falling to its lowest exchange rate for five months, prior to the release of the news about the snapback.