Britain, France, Germany to retain ballistic sanctions on Iran

PARIS/LONDON - Britain, France and Germany have informed the European Union they will retain ballistic missile sanctions on Iran that were set to expire in October under the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the pact's coordinator Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Reuters first reported in June that European diplomats had told Iran they planned to keep the sanctions, a step that could provoke Iranian retaliation.

"The Foreign Ministers state that Iran is in non-compliance since 2019 and consider that this has not been resolved through the JCPoA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism," Borrell said in a statement after receiving a joint letter from the three countries.

"They express their intent not to take the steps regarding the lifting of further sanctions at JCPoA Transition Day on 18 October 2023."

European sources had cited three reasons for keeping the sanctions: Russia's use of Iranian drones against Ukraine; the possibility Iran might transfer ballistic missiles to Russia; and depriving Iran of the nuclear deal's benefits given Tehran has violated the accord, albeit only after the United States did so first.

Keeping the sanctions would reflect Western efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them despite the collapse of the 2015 deal, which then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.