Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has formally appealed to his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath, to oppose the reimposition of sweeping United Nations sanctions on Tehran, in what Iran describes as a critical test for the credibility of international law.
According to foreign media reports, including RegTechTimes, Araghchi sent urgent letters to both Sri Lanka and the Maldives following the reactivation of sanctions under the UN’s “snapback” mechanism, triggered by Britain, France, and Germany over Iran’s alleged violations of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The letters, delivered through Iran’s ambassador in Colombo, Alireza Delkhosh, warn that failure to resist these measures could set a dangerous precedent.
Araghchi said that if such sanctions are allowed to proceed unchallenged, other developing nations, including those in South Asia and Africa, could be next to face similar unilateral pressures.
“These sanctions are not just about Iran,” Araghchi wrote, calling for smaller nations to protect the dignity of international law by resisting what he termed the politicisation of global rules by powerful countries.
The revived UN sanctions, supported by the European Union and United States, target Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and include wide-ranging restrictions on oil exports, financial transactions, and trade in sensitive technologies.
Washington has also imposed additional penalties on dozens of entities in Iran and China accused of supplying military hardware to Tehran.
Iran has rejected the legitimacy of the sanctions, calling them illegal and unenforceable.
Tehran insists that the reactivation of pre-2015 resolutions has no legal standing and violates the spirit of international agreements.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry is now engaged in a global diplomatic campaign, seeking to rally support from non-Western nations.
The outreach to Sri Lanka and the Maldives is part of that effort to demonstrate opposition to the sanctions beyond Iran’s traditional allies.
Leave a comment