Snapback Sanctions Against Iran: Will Donald Trump Play His Ace?

Excerpt

With the United Nations set to reimpose snapback sanctions on September 27, 2025, Tehran is once again rattling the saber, hinting it may even quit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Its nuclear program has been badly damaged, its regional proxies weakened, and its economy driven into collapse. Yet the regime still clings to the illusion that nothing has changed. That is why President Trump now faces a defining moment: will he allow this endless cycle to continue, or will he play his ace card—cutting off Iran’s last lifeline, its oil revenues—for good?

This confrontation has deep roots. Twenty-three years ago, the world first learned of Iran’s secret Natanz and Arak uranium enrichment facilities. What began in 2002 has outlasted four US presidents, countless negotiations, repeated sanctions campaigns, and has become one of the world’s most persistent security challenges.

President Trump extended multiple openings for dialogue, even appointing his trusted personal friend Steve Witkoff, a confidant known for his conciliatory approach, to lead negotiations. But the Islamic Republic spurned every gesture, clinging to hardline positions even after absorbing some of its harshest setbacks.

Three months after the US-Israeli strikes, Iranian leaders hardly bothered to conceal their defiance. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi scoffed that “Diplomacy is often cheaper and less risky, though sometimes it can cost more than war.” Iran’s UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani declared in June that “The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right.” Most importantly, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei doubled down on uranium enrichment, declaring, “We will never abandon our religion and our science.”

Dr. Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X: @SGhasseminejad. Navid Mohebbi is a Washington, DC-based Iran expert covering Iran’s foreign and domestic policy. Follow him on X: @navidmohebbi.