Iran, E3 to reconvene as snapback deadline looms
Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tehran will meet next week with Britain, France and Germany on its nuclear program amid threats by European powers to trigger the so-called snapback mechanism to reinstate international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
"It was agreed that Iran's talks with the three European countries and the European Union would continue next Tuesday at the level of deputy foreign ministers," the ministry said after a phone call between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior European diplomats on Friday.
Iran has repeatedly said that the European countries lack “legal and moral” authority to activate the snapback mechanism, envisaged in a UN Security Council resolution that endorses the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as they failed to fulfill their commitments under the agreement.
The European trio – parties to the deal – have threatened to trigger the "snapback mechanism" by the end of August. The move would reimpose UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 agreement unless Iran makes a deal on its nuclear program.
France has confirmed the talks and cautioned that Iran faces a narrowing window of time.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on X that his country remained "committed to diplomacy but time is very short.”
"Iran needs to engage substantively in order to avoid the activation of snapback," he said.
"We have been clear that we will not let the snapback of sanctions expire unless there is a verifiable and durable deal."
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, made a similar statement and said, "With the deadline for the snapback mechanism fast approaching, Iran's readiness to engage with the US is crucial. Iran must also fully cooperate" with the IAEA.
Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in July in the wake of US-Israel’s aggression which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and residential areas in June. The aggression claimed the lives of nearly 1,100 Iranians.
Israel’s act of aggression also derailed nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States which unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 agreement in 2018 and slapped crippling sanctions on Iran.
Iran has ever since criticized Europe over failing to meet its commitments under the deal.
Araghchi reiterated Friday the "lack of legal and moral competence of these countries to resort to the said mechanism" while warning about "the consequences of such an action.”
The deadline for activating the mechanism ends in October, though Europeans have set an internal target of the end of August to trigger it if diplomacy fails. They have also offered an extension to buy time for talks.
“This is a decision that must essentially be taken by the United Nations Security Council; and while the Islamic Republic of Iran has its own principled positions and views in this regard, it is not involved in this process," Araghchi said.