By: Lahav Harkov – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com
There is a sense in Jerusalem that if Russia invades Ukraine, it could sharply change how the US deals with Iran.
The US wants to use “snapback sanctions” to deter Iran from enriching weapons-grade uranium – a mechanism that was meant to be used in response to any violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told Israelis that he saw snapback sanctions as a possible way to stop Iran from enriching uranium to 90% purity, an Israeli diplomatic source said, confirming a report in Walla News.
Snapback was a UN Security Council resolution passed in tandem with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran, which stated that any party to the deal can trigger UN Security Council sanctions – which are binding on all member states – if Tehran violates the agreement in any way. That agreement limited Iran’s uranium enrichment to 5%, but the Islamic Republic has enriched to 60% in the past year, among other JCPOA violations.