The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran early Sunday over its nuclear program, further squeezing the Islamic Republic as its people increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures.
After last-minute diplomacy failed at the UN, the sanctions took effect Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalize any development of Iran's ballistic missile program, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as "snapback," included in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and comes as Iran's economy already is reeling.
Iran's rial currency sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices — including meat, rice and other staples in the country — and making daily life that much more challenging.
Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel — as well as potentially the United States — as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt.
WATCH | How close is Iran to a nuclear bomb?: U.S. President Donald Trump justified bombing key Iranian nuclear facilities by claiming Iran was dangerously close to developing a nuclear weapon. But how could he be so sure? Andrew Chang examines Iran’s claim that its uranium enrichment program is purely for civilian energy — and why much of the West remains skeptical. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.Activists fear a rising wave of repression within the Islamic Republic, which already has reportedly executed more people this year than over the past three decades.
Snapback was designed to be veto-proof at the UN Security Council, meaning China and Russia could not stop it alone, as they have done with other proposed actions against Tehran in the past. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the sanctions a "trap" for Iran on Saturday.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom triggered snapback 30 days ago due to Iran further restricting monitoring of its nuclear program and the deadlock over its negotiations with the U.S.
Iran further withdrew from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring after Israel's war on the country in June, which also saw the U.S. strike nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic.
WATCH | Inside the U.S.'s bunker-busting strike on Iran's nuclear program: Operation Midnight Hammer deployed B-2 Spirit bombers to drop nearly half a million pounds of bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear sites. Plus, how Ukraine is believed to have pulled off what it describes as its longest-range attack against Russia.Meanwhile, the country still maintains a stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent — that is largely enough to make several atomic bombs, should Tehran choose to rush toward weaponization.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and IAEA say Tehran had an organized weapons program up until 2003.
Tehran has further argued that the three European nations shouldn't be allowed to implement snapback, pointing in part to America's unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018, during the first term of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
A nuclear power plant is seen in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr in 2010. (Majid Asgaripour/Mehr News Agency/The Associated Press)Iran on Saturday recalled its ambassadors to France, Germany and the U.K. for consultations ahead of the sanctions being reimposed, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the three European nations for "an act of decisive global leadership" for imposing the sanctions on Iran.
"President Trump has been clear that diplomacy is still an option — a deal remains the best outcome for the Iranian people and the world," Rubio said in a statement. "For that to happen, Iran must accept direct talks."