Qalibaf — as well as members of the Iranian Foreign Ministry and armed forces — responded this weekend to the reimposition of “snapback” sanctions by the United Nations Security Council, restoring sanctions predating the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. Iran has been shielded from the restoration of sanctions throughout the past decades by the permanent membership of two of its closest allies, Russia and China, on the Security Council. The Security Council snapback sanctions represent a major diplomatic defeat for Iran after intense lobbying of the relevant countries at the General Assembly last week. Iran sent its president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to address the General Assembly and hold meetings with relevant leaders to discourage restoring the sanctions. Pezeshkian argued that implementing the sanctions would render the JCPOA “meaningless” as it would hold Iran accountable for violating the deal.