France, Britain, and Germany have delivered a direct message to Tehran, demanding an immediate return to diplomatic efforts concerning its nuclear program, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The three European nations, known as the E3, warned that a failure to demonstrate “concrete progress” by the close of summer would result in the restoration of United Nations sanctions against the Islamic Republic, according to the report.
The ultimatum was conveyed during the first joint call between the foreign ministers of the E3 and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. This diplomatic exchange follows mid-June airstrikes carried out by Israel and the United States targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
A French diplomatic source, speaking after the call, confirmed to Reuters that the ministers urged Iran to “resume diplomatic efforts immediately to reach a ‘verifiable and lasting’ nuclear deal.”
The confirmation comes several days after the Guardian reported that the European Union is poised to begin the process of reinstating UN sanctions on Iran, with an August 29 deadline set for Tehran to show progress on its nuclear program.
The E3, alongside China and Russia, are the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which saw the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limitations on its nuclear activities.
The UN Security Council resolution underpinning this agreement is set to expire on October 18, with provisions allowing for the re-imposition of UN sanctions prior to this date, a process that would take approximately 30 days.
European officials have consistently cautioned that without a new nuclear agreement, they intend to activate the “snapback mechanism.” This mechanism would re-impose all prior UN sanctions on Iran should it be found in violation of the existing agreement’s terms.
“The ministers also reiterated their determination to use the so-called ‘snapback’ mechanism in the absence of concrete progress toward such an agreement by the end of the summer,” the diplomatic source stated, according to Reuters, though no specific details were provided regarding what constitutes “concrete progress.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned last week that European nations will impose “dramatic sanctions” on Iran in weeks if it doesn’t end nuclear uncertainty and allow UN inspectors to return.
Iran recently suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and significantly escalated tensions with the UN watchdog.
The Iranian government contends that a resolution passed last month by the board of the IAEA, which declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations, paved the way for the recent Israeli strikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently issued a stark warning to European powers, cautioning that any move to trigger UN sanctions on Tehran could lead to a serious and potentially irreversible escalation in tensions.
Araghchi repeated that warning over the weekend, telling diplomats, “One of the big mistakes of the Europeans is that they think that the ‘snapback’ tool in their hands gives them the power to act on the Iranian nuclear issue, while this is a completely wrong perception. If these countries move towards snapback, they will make the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue even more complicated and difficult.”