“Once designed as a last-resort dispute tool,” the snapback is now being “wielded as diplomatic leverage,” Araqchi wrote in an op-ed for the French weekly Le Point on Sunday, referring to European threats to invoke the snapback mechanism and reinstate U.N. sanctions against Iran.

He warned that such brinkmanship “risks triggering a global non-proliferation crisis” that could primarily impact the Europeans themselves.

Araqchi said that while Iran remained committed to the JCPOA, as the 2015 deal is officially called, the E3 failed to uphold their promises, highlighting that European firms complied with U.S. sanctions despite their governments’ assurances. “Promised economic benefits under the JCPOA never materialized,” he noted.

Araqchi emphasized that Iran has repeatedly made its position clear and cautioned all JCPOA signatories that any abuse of the snapback mechanism would be met with consequences.

The U.K., France, and Germany have, on numerous occasions at the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), sought resolutions under various pretexts to activate the mechanism against Iran.

Observers suggest that the three European countries are attempting to exert pressure on both Iran and the United States, which have kept third parties out of their ongoing negotiations.

Araqchi concluded his article on an optimistic note, urging Europe to abandon its confrontational posture and, together with Iran, turn the page toward deeper diplomatic engagement.