Europeans have given Iran one month to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program, failing which UN sanctions, lifted ten years ago, will be reinstated.
European powers have raised the pressure. The United Kingdom, France and Germany, grouped as the E3, have triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism, which allows UN sanctions against Iran to be automatically restored. The Vienna nuclear deal, signed in July 2015 and endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution, is set to expire in October. Europeans hope to use this final deadline to obtain a gesture from Tehran, but the Islamic Republic has rejected the offer.
British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward explained on Friday that the E3 had already proposed in July to extend the suspension of sanctions if Iran agreed to greater cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to reduce its stockpiles of enriched uranium. But, she said, “to date Iran has shown no sign of wanting to respond.” Tehran maintains that Europeans no longer have a legal basis to reactivate measures that were lifted ten years ago.
Flashback
The 2015 deal was concluded by Iran, the United States, the Europeans, Russia and China under President Barack Obama. It imposed strict controls on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a gradual lifting of economic sanctions. But in 2018, Donald Trump decided to withdraw, re-imposing U.S. sanctions. In response, Tehran walked back from some of its commitments, particularly on uranium enrichment.
Since then, the situation has become more complicated. During his second term, Trump briefly reopened a channel of dialogue with Iran, before siding with Israel, which struck several Iranian nuclear facilities in June during a twelve-day conflict. Washington, now represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, says it remains open to direct talks, even though diplomatic relations have been severed since 1980.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the European trio’s move as a “detrimental decision,” arguing that it undermines prospects for a settlement. According to observers of the Iranian dossier, such an attitude reflects Tehran’s strategy of continuing to buy time in order to rebuild a new strike capability.
