DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran said Friday its foreign minister spoke by phone with his French, German and British counterparts to avoid the reimposition of U.N. sanctions over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, just days ahead of a European deadline.<\/p>\n
The call by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came as the three countries threatened to invoke the \u201csnapback\u201d provision of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by month\u2019s end, allowing any party to reimpose sanctions if they find Iran out of compliance with requirements such as international monitoring of its nuclear program. <\/p>\n
The Europeans\u2019 concern over the Iranian program, which had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels before the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June<\/a> saw its atomic sites bombed, has only grown since Tehran cut off all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency<\/a> in the conflict\u2019s wake. That has left the international community further blinded to Iran\u2019s program \u2014 as well as the status of its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%. <\/p>\n Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, though it is the only non-nuclear-armed nation enriching uranium at that level. The U.S., the IAEA and others say Iran had a nuclear weapons program up until 2003.<\/p>\n After the call, a statement released on Araghchi\u2019s behalf via Telegram said he criticized the countries\u2019 \u201clegal and moral qualifications\u201d to threaten to reinstate the sanctions, but insisted talks would continue. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it acts authoritatively in self defense, has never abandoned the path of diplomacy and is ready for any diplomatic solution that guarantees the rights and interests of the Iranian people,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot confirmed on the social platform X that the talks took place, and said another round of discussions would happen next week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have just made an important call to our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear program and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reapply,\u201d he said. \u201cTime is running out.\u201d<\/p>\n That was echoed by Germany\u2019s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who said \u201ctime is very short.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIran needs to engage substantively in order to avoid the activation of snapback,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cWe have been clear that we will not let the snapback of sanctions expire unless there is a verifiable and durable deal.\u201d<\/p>\n European letter set deadline<\/p>\n In a letter Aug. 8, the three European nations warned Iran it would proceed with \u201csnapback\u201d if Tehran didn\u2019t reach a \u201csatisfactory solution\u201d to the nuclear issues. That deadline would be Aug. 31, in nine days, leaving little time for Iran to likely reach any agreement with the Europeans, who have grown increasingly skeptical of Iran over years of inconclusive negotiations over its nuclear program<\/a>. <\/p>\n Restoring the IAEA\u2019s access is a key part of the talks. Iran has blamed the war with Israel in part on the IAEA, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, without offering any evidence. The IAEA issues quarterly reports on Iran\u2019s program and the 2015 deal gave the agency greater access to keep track of it. Its Board of Governors voted to find Iran out of compliance with its obligations to the agency the day before the Iran-Israel war began.<\/p>\n