European leaders have taken a major step to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear threat. On Thursday, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—known as the E3—triggered a process at the United Nations to restore old sanctions on Iran. These are called “snapback” sanctions, and they were built into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Unless something changes, the sanctions will go into effect in September.
The reason is simple: Iran has broken its promises. For years, it has pushed forward with its nuclear program, even after being warned again and again. The E3 stayed in the deal after the United States pulled out during President Trump’s first term. They tried to keep talks alive. But Iran refused to cooperate with nuclear inspectors and kept enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels. That crosses a red line.
This is not just a European problem. It’s a global security threat, and it matters deeply to the United States. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it could set off a dangerous arms race in the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey may feel forced to get nuclear weapons too. That would make the region—already one of the most unstable in the world—even more dangerous.
Iran’s actions also threaten Israel, one of America’s closest allies. Iran has openly called for Israel’s destruction. A nuclear-armed Iran would make that threat even more serious. That’s why Israel and the United States carried out airstrikes earlier this year against Iran’s nuclear facilities. These strikes damaged Iran’s program, but they didn’t stop it completely.
The snapback process is important because it’s one of the last ways to stop Iran without going to war. Under the rules of the 2015 deal, any country that signed the deal can trigger snapback if Iran breaks its promises. Once triggered, all the old United Nations sanctions come back into place after 30 days, unless the U.N. Security Council votes to stop it.
But here’s the catch: after October 18, the entire deal expires. If snapback isn’t completed by then, any new sanctions would have to go through the U.N. Security Council—and that’s a big problem. Russia and China, both of which support Iran, could block any new sanctions. Even worse, Russia will lead the Security Council in October, giving it more power to protect Iran.
Fortunately, the United States still has friends in Europe who are willing to act. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the E3 for finally taking this step. He said they gave Iran many chances to come back to the table but got nothing in return. Now it’s time to apply real pressure.
Make no mistake: these sanctions will hurt Iran’s economy. They will freeze Iranian assets overseas, block arms deals, and cut off access to important markets. That kind of pressure worked before. It brought Iran to the table in the early 2010s and could do so again—if we stay strong.
Some in Iran are already threatening to pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That would be a dangerous move. It would signal that Iran is no longer even pretending to follow the rules. The world must be ready to respond firmly if that happens.
For too long, Iran played for time while getting closer to a bomb. The Obama-era deal was supposed to stop that, but it had too many loopholes and weak enforcement. President Trump was right to pull out and reimpose U.S. sanctions. Now, thanks to strong American leadership and support from Europe, we may finally be turning a corner.
Time is short. The 30-day countdown has begun. If we want to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power, we must act now—through sanctions, diplomacy, and, if needed, military readiness. American security, and that of our allies, depends on it.