Widespread UN sanctions against Iran have been reinstated for the first time in a decade following unsuccessful nuclear talks with Western powers. The sanctions, effective late Saturday, restrict activities related to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and are anticipated to further strain its struggling economy.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Iran to engage in direct talks and called on UN member states to implement the sanctions immediately. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany expressed their commitment to seeking a new diplomatic solution to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and urged Iran to avoid escalatory actions.

Iran has allowed UN inspectors back to its nuclear sites, but President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the US’s proposal to exchange a short reprieve for Iran’s entire stockpile of enriched uranium as unacceptable. An attempt by Russia and China to postpone the sanctions was unsuccessful, leading to their immediate reactivation.

Iran has historically maintained that it does not seek nuclear weapons, and the renewed sanctions come on the heels of stringent unilateral US sanctions that were tightened after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. The recent sanctions are expected to exacerbate Iran’s already challenging economic situation, with the rial’s exchange rate hitting record lows.



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