IRAN: Lawmaker-Snapback Sanctions 'Tired Scarecrow'; Raises NPT Withdrawal

In an interview with semi-official outlet Mehr News, Hassan Ali Akhlaghi-Amiri, a member of the unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly who sits on the influential Cultural Committee, claimed that the proposed snapback sanctions set to be imposed by the UN Security Council at the behest of the E3 nations (France, Germany, UK) are a "tired scarecrow", incapable of undermining Iran. Akhlaghi-Amiri went on to say that should the snapback sanctions come into force, "we have 90 days to use tools, including withdrawing from the NPT [nuclear non-proliferation treaty]".

• Speaking to Israel's Channel 12 on 18 September, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated that 'snapback' sanctions will come into force. Asked if they are a done deal, Macron said, "Yes, I think so. Because the latest news we have from the Iranians are [sic] not serious." Macron claimed that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "tried to make a reasonable offer", but could not gain support from others in the gov't.
• On the potential for Iran to withdraw from the NPT, a regionally and potentially globally destabilising move, Axios reports that "European diplomats think they won't go that far." The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which warns against the risk of nuclear proliferation, claims that "It would facilitate reconstitution of Iran’s bombed nuclear capabilities and enable Tehran to use them to develop nuclear weapons without international oversight." Earlier in September, the Consultative Assembly held an emergency debate on the prospect of NPT withdrawal.