Iran talks with European powers to be held in Geneva as sanctions loom

Iran talks with European powers to be held in Geneva as sanctions loom
by AFP Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Aug 25, 2025

Nuclear talks scheduled for Tuesday between Iran and Britain, France and Germany will be held in Geneva, Iranian state media reported.

"On Tuesday, Iran and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with the European Union, will hold a new round of talks at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Geneva," state television said on Monday.

The meeting will be the second since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in mid-June, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. The previous round of talks was held in Istanbul on July 25.

It comes after Iran suspended cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog following the war with Israel, with Tehran pointing to the International Atomic Energy Agency's failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

The unprecedented bombing by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed Tehran's nuclear negotiations with Washington.

The European trio have threatened to trigger a "snapback mechanism" under the 2015 nuclear deal which would reimpose UN sanctions that were lifted under the agreement, unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.

Iran disputes the legality of invoking the clause, accusing the Europeans of not honouring their commitments under the accord.

Britain, France and Germany, along with China, Russia, and the United States, reached an agreement with Iran in 2015 under a deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

The deal provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do.

But Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term in office, and the reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments, particularly on uranium enrichment.

At the time of the US withdrawal, London, Paris and Berlin reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement and said they intended to continue trading with Iran. As a result, UN and European sanctions were not reinstated, even as Trump restored US sanctions.

But the mechanism envisaged by European countries to compensate for the return of US sanctions has struggled to materialise, and many Western companies have been forced to leave Iran, which is facing high inflation and an economic crisis.

The deadline for activating the snapback mechanism ends in October, but according to the Financial Times, the Europeans have offered to extend the deadline if Iran resumes nuclear talks with Washington and re-engages with the IAEA.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the Europeans have no right to do so.

Iran, Europeans to meet as snapback sanctions loom
Tehran (AFP) Aug 22, 2025 -

Iran will meet next week with Britain, France and Germany for talks on its nuclear programme, the parties said Friday, as the European powers warned Tehran to engage swiftly to avoid snapback sanctions.

The Islamic republic suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in July in the wake of its 12-day war with Israel, citing the UN nuclear watchdog's failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.

The European trio -- parties to the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal -- have threatened to trigger a "snapback mechanism" by the end of August.

The move would reimpose sweeping UN sanctions lifted under the 2015 agreement unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.

"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," Iran's foreign ministry said after a phone call between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior European diplomats.

France confirmed the talks and cautioned that Iran faced a narrowing window of time.

"We have just made an important call to our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear programme and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reimpose," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on X, noting he was joined on the call by his British and German counterparts and the EU's top diplomat.

"Time is running out. A new meeting will take place next week on this issue," he added.

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, similarly 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.

It was not immediately clear where the talks, the second since the Iran-Israel war, would take place.

- Iran warns of snapback 'consequences' -

Israel in June launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear, military and civilian sites, prompting Tehran to respond with missile strikes on Israel.

The United States also joined its ally Israel, targeting key Iranian nuclear sites deep within the country.

Iran and the European trio -- known as the E3 -- held talks in late July at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, which Tehran described as "frank".

Iran's war with Israel derailed its nuclear negotiations with the United States.

The 2015 nuclear deal was aimed preventing Iran from developing an atomic bomb -- an ambition it has consistently denied.

The deal was torpedoed in 2018 when Donald Trump, during his first term as president, unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and slapped crippling sanctions on its economy.

Iran has ever since criticised the European parties, accusing them of failing to meet their 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 secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said in an interview published on Friday that the Europeans are "carrying out part of America's operations" by pursuing the snapback mechanism.

Iran has previously said it would leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) if the E3 activate the snapback mechanism.

Larijani said in the interview on the supreme leader's website that "the possibility has always existed" for Iran to leave the NPT, but it has remained committed to the treaty even though it bears "no benefit" for Tehran.

Tehran has long argued that NPT membership grants it the right to enrich uranium, which Washington considers a red line, while Iran insists it is non-negotiable.

The deadline for activating the mechanism ends in October, though Europeans have set an internal target of the end of August, while also offering an extension to buy time for talks.

Araghchi said Friday that "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."

Larijani rejected the prospect of an extension, saying: "Iran truly does not accept this."