(CNN) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom have begun the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The triggering of the so-called snapback sanctions, a move that the United States welcomed on Thursday, comes as diplomatic efforts to restrain Iran’s growing nuclear program have faltered. Tehran has condemned the move and warned there could be consequences for reimplementing sanctions.

The “E3” countries notified the UN Security Council Thursday that they were triggering the snapback mechanism, which would reimpose all UN sanctions that had been previously lifted in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The mechanism was included as part of that agreement, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).

Iran has increasingly breached the nuclear deal a

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