As Europe's two nuclear-armed powers with permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, France and the United Kingdom, along with Germany, say they have agreed to possibly trigger a "snapback" mechanism that would reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran by the end of August.
The three European powers, known as the E3, have agreed to take that step if there is no concrete progress toward reaching a new nuclear agreement with Iran, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday. "Without a firm, tangible and verifiable commitment from Iran," he said, "we will do so by the end of August at the latest."
The joint strategy also was coordinated with the Trump administration. In a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio a day earlier, the foreign ministers from the E3 nations spoke "about fostering stability in the Middle East and ensuring Iran does not develop or obtain a nuclear weapon," U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
France, Germany and the U.K. remain parties to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. In his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from it citing perceived inadequacies. China, Russia and the European Union also are parties to the deal.
The JCPOA, which lifted a swathe of economic penalties on Iran in exchange for verifiable restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program, contains a "snapback" provision allowing any of the remaining Western signatories to reimpose U.N. sanctions if Tehran is deemed to be in non-compliance.
Barrot said the European trio would be justified in reapplying sanctions without more progress, and France's foreign ministry later reinforced the point to justify exerting a significant escalation in diplomatic pressure on Tehran.
"Without a verifiable commitment from Iran by the end of August at the latest," it said, "France, Germany and the U.K. will be justified in reapplying the U.N. sanctions (snapbacks) that were lifted 10 years ago."
While the diplomats offered few specifics on the parameters of a desired deal, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has recently indicated Tehran's willingness to re-engage in nuclear talks with the U.S., contingent on assurances against further attacks on its nuclear facilities.
In light of the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes, Araghchi stressed, these assurances would need to provide "a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated," adding that "the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution."
The U.S. and Iran had engaged in several rounds of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program prior to the commencement of the Israeli strikes in June. Despite recent indications from Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, that talks would resume shortly, no specific dates have yet been scheduled.
Araghchi, whose government consistently maintains the peaceful nature of its nuclear ambitions, told CBS in a July 2 interview that "the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut."
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said last week the U.S. airstrikes inflicted such extensive damage on his country’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities have been unable to access them to assess the destruction.
Iran has, consequently, suspended its cooperation with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, further complicating verification efforts.
