ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US, UK, and Canada announced the impositons of new sanctions against Iran on Wednesday, coming after the activation of the snapback mechanism to reimpose UN-backed measures against Tehran over its nuclear program.

Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, announced the reimposition of “previously terminated United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Iran in response to its continued nuclear activities,” according to a statement released by the government.

The sanctions include banning exports to and imports from Iran relating to nuclear, dual-use, and ballistic missile-related materials, as well as any technical and financial assistance related to them, a comprehensive arms embargo, and banning services for Iranian vessels.

The statement added that Ottawa calls on Tehran to "fully implement its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and engage in direct talks with the United States” to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement “that ensures Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon."

The move comes days after the United Nations formally reimposed a global arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran through the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The UK, France, and Germany had triggered the "snapback," accusing Tehran of noncompliance with the accord.

Meanwhile, the UK on Wednesday announced that it had imposed sanctions targeting 121 individuals and entities it alleges are affiliated with Iran’s nuclear program, announcing that the measures seek to block Iran from using international companies to bypass restrictions.

On the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington has imposed "new sanctions and export controls" that will "target 44 actors tied to Iran’s nuclear, missile, and military programs."

"We will deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon," he wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump has adopted increasingly tougher policies against Iran since returning to office. In February, he signed a national security presidential memorandum, restoring his maximum pressure policy on Iran and detailing a series of new economic measures targeting Tehran.

Iran has staunchly criticized the measures, complaining that they embody Western hypocrisy given that Israel, despite being widely-known for possessing a nuclear arsenal, faces no such criticism despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"The reactivation of annulled resolutions is legally baseless and unjustifiable … all countries must refrain from recognizing this illegal decision," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. 

Iranian officials have time and again insisted that their nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes only and that they have no intention of pursuing offensive capabilities, citing a decree Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons.