Statement by the U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 13, 2025 — The U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) commends the introduction of a bipartisan resolution in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives urging European nations to invoke “snapback” sanctions on the Iranian regime. This critical measure, as reported today by Fox News, seeks to hold the Tehran regime accountable for its persistent violations of the 2015 nuclear deal and its escalating nuclear weapons program.
The resolution, led by Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) in the Senate and Representatives Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) in the House, underscores the Iranian regime’s blatant breaches of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and calls on the U.K., France, and Germany to reinstate United Nations sanctions without delay.
Ms. Soona Samsami, the U.S. Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), praised the resolution, stating:
“It is long overdue to trigger the snapback mechanism and bring back all the sanctions, as the Iranian regime has egregiously violated its commitments and is rapidly dashing toward building the nuclear bomb.”
Since the JCPOA’s implementation, the Iranian regime has repeatedly evaded international oversight, curtailed access for independent inspectors, and dramatically accelerated uranium enrichment, reaching levels just below weapons-grade. According to U.N. nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi, Iran’s current enrichment of uranium to 60% purity serves no civilian purpose and represents a clear step toward developing nuclear weapons.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, Deputy Director of the NCRI’s Washington Office, emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating. “Tehran’s strategy is to drag and delay until the UN snapback clock runs out in October.”
Samsami emphasized, “The focus of the international community should be on verifiably closing the entire nuclear program of the Iranian regime.”
The NCRI has long warned about the Iranian regime’s deceptive nuclear ambitions and its ongoing pursuit of nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program. In 2002, the NCRI exposed the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, prompting the first-ever International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of Iran’s secret nuclear sites.
In January 2025, the NCRI-US revealed two sites in Shahroud and Semnan which were until then known to be missile sites, as locations for the development of nuclear warheads, under the supervision of the nuclear bomb-making organization operated by the IRGC, known as SPND.
Tehran’s decades-long project to develop nuclear warheads is a comprehensive plan operated by the IRGC and its bomb-making entity known as SPND. The Uranium enrichment process producing fissile material, building that into a functional Bomb, and having the delivery system are the three integral parts of building a nuclear warhead.
NCRI also revealed that creating a Space Command of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force has served to camouflage the development of nuclear warheads under the guise of launching satellites while additionally giving the regime independent communications necessary for guiding the nuclear warheads.
Under the provisions of the JCPOA, any of the six signatory nations – the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and China – can invoke snapback sanctions if the Iranian regime violates its commitments.
Jafarzadeh urged immediate action, warning that any delay would embolden the Tehran regime:
“Since day one, the entire nuclear program of the Iranian regime has been about building the nuclear bomb and has never had a peaceful nature. It is time for the international community, without any waste of time, to deny the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism being armed with nuclear weapons.”
With the October deadline looming, NCRI-US calls on European leaders to act decisively and reinstate comprehensive sanctions to halt Iran’s nuclear escalation and dismantle its illicit weapons program.
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