Briefing - International sanctions on Iran: Overview of the main regimes and recent events - 26-09-2025
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For more than four decades, Iran has faced various international sanctions designed to modify its regime's conduct across multiple areas of concern. These areas include nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and proliferation, support for terrorism, regionaBriefing - International sanctions on Iran: Overview of the main regimes and recent events - 26-09-2025
For more than four decades, Iran has faced various international sanctions designed to modify its regime's conduct across multiple areas of concern. These areas include nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and proliferation, support for terrorism, regional destabilisation and human rights abuses. Since 1979, the United States' (US) sanctions on Iran have evolved into a complex and comprehensive regime. Between 2006 and 2010, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed multilateral sanctions specifically targeting Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation activities. The European Union (EU) has implemented the UNSC measures and, since 2010, has developed its own restrictive measures on Iran. The EU's sanctions extend beyond non-proliferation concerns to encompass measures for Iran's human rights violations, support for terrorism and assistance to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) established an agreement between Iran, the five permanent members of the UNSC, plus Germany and the EU's High Representative. This agreement provided for the gradual lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for limitations on its nuclear programme. Following the US's withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and the subsequent re-imposition of previously lifted US sanctions, Iran began violating its JCPOA commitments. On 28 August 2025, the three European parties to the JCPOA – France, Germany and the United Kingdom – triggered the procedure to restore all UNSC sanctions on Iran, which were originally set to definitively expire on 18 October 2025. Although diplomatic efforts were complicated by Israeli and US military strikes against Iran in June 2025, and despite the UNSC's rejection on 19 September of a draft resolution to extend the lifting of sanctions, dialogue between Iran and the European powers continues in search of a diplomatic solution to prevent the re-imposition of comprehensive UNSC sanctions scheduled for 28 September 2025. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP Read more