TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Thursday condemned the Group of Seven (G7) for backing the reinstatement of UN sanctions on Tehran.

On Wednesday, a communique issued by the G7 foreign ministers expressed support for the activation of the "snapback" mechanism by France, Britain and Germany, collectively known as the E3, to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. The G7 accused the Iranian government of having continuously failed to meet its obligations under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Baghaei criticized the G7 statement as "hypocritical and a distortion of reality," saying the G7's endorsement of the E3 and U.S. move to reinstate sanctions on Iran constituted support for an action that "violated international law."

He rejected claims that the E3 and Washington had offered diplomatic avenues in good faith, blaming the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and its "constant international law violations" for the current crisis.

Baghaei also accused the E3 of failing to meet their JCPOA commitments, siding with the U.S. and Israel, and ignoring Iran's diplomatic initiatives.

The E3 triggered the "snapback" mechanism in August, leading to the UN's reimposition of sanctions after the Security Council failed to extend sanctions relief in September. ■