Hezbollah criticizes the reimposition of European sanctions on Iran

Hezbollah firmly condemned on Tuesday the “snapback” mechanism activated by the E3 (France, Germany, United Kingdom), which marks the reinstatement of economic sanctions against Tehran after the collapse of last-chance negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue.

The activation of this mechanism, which officially came into effect on Monday, Sept. 29 after a 30-day period, was described as “the fall of the last veil of credibility” of the European trio, according to a statement issued by the media office of the party in defense of Iran.

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“It is not the Islamic Republic of Iran that withdrew from the nuclear agreement signed in 2015. It was the United States, under President Donald Trump, that tore up this agreement. Nor was it Iran that failed to meet its commitments and obligations related to the agreement, but indeed the European troika that failed in this regard. Thus, the troika’s move to activate this mechanism amounts to the fall of the last veil of credibility of these parties and demonstrates their lack of seriousness in fulfilling their responsibilities regarding sensitive and thorny issues on the international stage,” the statement said, stressing that these actors “cannot be considered responsible parties in addressing international crises, particularly in the Middle East.”

Hezbollah frames the E3’s decision as a continuation of their “complicity” in last June’s 12-day Israeli war against Iran, with support from the U.S. “This reflects the European troika’s involvement in the war waged by the U.S. and the Zionist entity against the Islamic Republic. A war that was not only intended to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities, as the aggressors alleged, but also to overthrow the Islamic regime and sow chaos and instability in Iran, as even the leaders of the Zionist enemy have admitted,” the statement continues.

Hezbollah concludes, “We call on the states, forces, and free peoples of the world to reject these illegal and immoral measures and to refuse to comply with them. We also call on them to work seriously to counter Western hegemony over international institutions, which have become instruments in the hands of arrogant and domineering powers.”

Hezbollah’s harsh criticism is in continuity with its previous accusations against the roles of the United States and France in the “monitoring mechanism” of the cease-fire agreement that came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, in Lebanon. Nevertheless, Israel violates this cease-fire almost daily, which continues to occupy at least six positions in southern Lebanon.

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Germany, France and the United Kingdom, however, announced in a joint statement that they “will continue the diplomatic path and negotiations” with Tehran. “The re-imposition of U.N. sanctions does not mean the end of diplomacy ... We urge Iran to refrain from escalation and to comply again with its legally binding safeguards obligations,” the statement said.