France, Germany, UK willing to reinstate sanctions on Iran
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
France, Germany and UK say they are ready to reimpose Iran sanctions
The so-called E3 group says they are ready to trigger the ‘snapback’ mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal. The warning comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Tehran halted collaboration with the UN nuclear watchdog after Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran in June. Iran has agreed to hold talks with the IAEA and is preparing to host a visit by the UN watchdog, its first since Tehran cut ties with the agency last month following the June conflict. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes and has denied seeking nuclear weapons.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom have told the United Nations they are prepared to reinstate sanctions on Iran, according to a joint letter.
The letter, sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council, said the three European powers were “committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon” unless Tehran meets a deadline to speak with them.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers wrote, the AFP news agency reported on Wednesday.
Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes and has denied seeking nuclear weapons.
The warning comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tehran halted collaboration with the UN nuclear watchdog after Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran in June, targeting senior military leaders, top scientists and nuclear facilities.
Iran had been in talks with the United States at the time over its nuclear programme, before Washington later carried out its own bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear sites during the conflict.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the UN on Tuesday, raising the prospect of “snapback” sanctions – a provision in a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that eased UN Security Council measures in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.
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Under the agreement, which expires in October, any signatory can restore the sanctions if they believe Iran is in breach.
The letter follows what the E3 described as “serious, frank and detailed” discussions with Iran in Istanbul last month, the first in-person talks since Israeli and US strikes targeted Iranian nuclear sites.
France, Germany and the UK were signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alongside the United States, China, Russia and the European Union. The accord required Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions. The European powers pledged to uphold the agreement but now claim Iran has breached its terms, including building a uranium stockpile more than 40 times the limit set in 2015.
However, no evidence has been found that Iran has enriched uranium to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent after it allowed inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA.
Meanwhile, Iran has agreed to hold talks with the IAEA and is preparing to host a visit by the UN watchdog, its first since Tehran cut ties with the agency last month following the June conflict.
France, Germany, UK willing to reinstate sanctions on Iran
France, Germany and Britain say they are ready to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The deal lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. They added that they had offered Iran a limited expansion to allow for direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but that the offer had remained unanswered by Iran so far. The letter was first reported by the Financial Times and France’s Le Monde newspaper.
PARIS – France, Germany and Britain have written to the United Nations to say they are ready to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations with the international community over its nuclear programme.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the U.N. on Tuesday to raise the possibility of “snapback” sanctions unless Iran takes action, according to a letter shared by the French foreign ministry.
The letter was first reported by the Financial Times and France’s Le Monde newspaper.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers said in the letter.
They added that they had offered Iran a limited expansion to allow for direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, but that the offer had remained unanswered by Iran so far.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the United States withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
The E3’s warning comes after “serious, frank and detailed” talks with Iran in Istanbul last month, the first face-to-face meeting since Israeli and U.S. strikes on the country’s nuclear sites in June.
Iranian lawmaker Manouchehr Mottaki, who served as foreign minister from 2005 to 2010, said Iran’s parliament “has its finger on the trigger to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)” if international sanctions were reimposed after any E3 invocation of the snapback mechanism.
Mottaki told Iran’s semi-official Defa Press that parliament would approve a bill to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal within 24 hours if the E3 invoked the snapback mechanism.
During its 12-day war with Israel in June, Tehran said its lawmakers were preparing a bill that could push it towards exiting the treaty, ratified by Tehran in 1970. The treaty guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forego atomic weapons and cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. REUTERS
France, Germany, UK could reinstate global embargoes on Iran
The E3 countries could reinstate global sanctions on Iran if it continues to violate its nuclear obligations, the French foreign minister says. Jean-Noel Barrot says their offer to “temporarily and conditionally” suspend the reactivation of the sanctions to give negotiations a chance has so far gone unanswered by Iran. The three countries were signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal along with the US, China and Russia. But President Donald withdrew the US out of the accord in 2018 during his first term and reinstated sanctions.
“Iran must in no way gain access to nuclear weapons. If it continues to violate its international obligations, France and its German and British partners will, by the end of August, reinstate the global embargoes on arms, nuclear equipment, and banking restrictions lifted 10 years ago,” Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on US social media company X.
He said their offer to “temporarily and conditionally” suspend the reactivation of the sanctions to give negotiations a chance his offer has so far gone unanswered by Iran.
Barrot also shared the joint letter they had sent to the UN on Aug. 8, which was earlier obtained by the Financial Times.
The “E3 have always committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the E3 foreign ministers wrote in the letter.
They warned that Iran’s proliferation crisis cannot be removed from the UN Security Council’s agenda at the moment as Iran’s nuclear activities with “no credible civilian justification” are ongoing.
“Without a robust, durable, and verifiable agreement in place, we cannot let the relevant decisions of the UNSC and the applicable international architecture lapse. Direct negotiations between Iran and the US must resume urgently. The E3 stand ready to support this process,” they said.
The European nations reaffirmed that they are “fully committed” to a diplomatic resolution and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution.
Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June, to destroy its nuclear program. The US also intervened and bombed three nuclear sites raid during the war.
The three countries were signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal along with the US, China and Russia to limit enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief. But President Donald withdrew the US out of the accord in 2018 during his first term and reinstated sanctions.
Iran halted cooperation with the IAEA after the strikes, but this week it said the agency’s deputy chief was expected in Tehran for talks.
France, UK and Germany ready to reimpose sanctions on Iran
Foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the UN on Tuesday to raise the possibility of ‘snapback’ sanctions unless Iran takes action. The letter complained that Iran was failing to carry out its commitments under a nuclear deal agreed to in 2015. The E3, China and Russia are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the US withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. Without an answer, the E3 has said it will trigger the snapback by the end of August to meet an October deadline. France has recently joined the US in demanding zero enrichment, even for civilian purposes, even if it is not used for nuclear weapons. Iran has produced enriched material at sites prohibited under the agreement, such as Fordow. Iran also announced a new enrichment site in June and has produced, installed and operated thousands of new advanced centrifuges. Iran is already under a US embargo that applies around the globe.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the UN on Tuesday to raise the possibility of “snapback” sanctions unless Iran takes action, said the letter, which was shared on X by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers wrote.
The E3 considers that Iran’s nuclear programme continues to pose a threat to world security despite US strikes in June that ended 12 days of an Iran-Israel air war. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can no longer conduct on-site inspections since Iran stopped co-operating with them after the conflict.
The letter complained that Iran was failing to carry out its commitments under a nuclear deal agreed to in 2015. After striking Iran on June 22, the White House claimed it had obliterated Iran’s nuclear programme, but those claims have been contradicted by intelligence reports which say it has only been set back by months.
No Iranian response
The E3 offered a six-month snapback extension after its latest meeting with Iran in Istanbul on July 22, to which Iran has yet to respond. Without an answer, the E3 has said it will trigger the snapback by the end of August to meet an October deadline.
“If Iran continues to violate its international obligations, France and its German and British partners will reinstate at the end of August the global embargoes on arms, nuclear equipment and banking restrictions lifted 10 years ago,” Mr Barrot said.
An extension would provide “additional time for negotiations with the aim of concluding a new agreement, while maintaining the possibility of resorting to the re-establishment of relevant sanctions against Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation,” the letter said.
There is a perception that Iran may be ignoring the E3 proposal for an extension because it believes that the impact of a decision to reimpose sanctions would be minimal. Iran is already under a US embargo that applies around the globe.
The Isfahan nuclear enrichment plant in central Iran after being hits by US bombs. Photo: Planet Labs PBC / AFP
The E3 rejects claims made by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that it has no legal foundation to trigger snapback. The E3, China and Russia are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the US withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.
Years of non-compliance
E3 ministers pointed at the fact that Europe, unlike the US, has never attacked Iran militarily. They described Iran’s decision to stop honouring its nuclear commitments in 2019, one year after a US withdrawal, as a “regrettable decision”. Previous diplomatic efforts to address Iran’s non-compliance failed.
“Since 2019, Iran has wilfully and publicly departed from its nuclear commitments,” the letter said. “Iran’s non-performance is as blatant as it is concerning. We now face a situation in which, in addition to reneging on its commitments, Iran has ceased co-operation with the IAEA,” it added.
As examples of Iran’s violations, the E3 pointed to uranium stockpiles representing more than 40 times the limit, including 400kg of uranium enriched at 60 per cent. The deal set a limit of 3.67 per cent enrichment. France has recently joined the US in demanding zero enrichment, even for civilian purposes.
The letter also highlighted that Iran has produced enriched material at sites prohibited under the agreement, such as Fordow. Iran also announced a new enrichment site in June and has produced, installed and operated thousands of new advanced centrifuges.
“This all constitutes a clear legal basis for the E3 should we decide to notify the UNSC that Iran is in significant non-performance of its commitments under the agreement and therefore to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the letter said.
Iranian legislator Manouchehr Mottaki, who served as foreign minister from 2005 to 2010, said Iran’s parliament “has its finger on the trigger to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty” if international sanctions were reimposed after any E3 invocation of the snapback mechanism.
Mr Mottaki told Iran’s semi-official Defa Press that parliament would approve a bill to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal within 24 hours if the E3 invoked the snapback mechanism.
During its 12-day war with Israel, Tehran said its legislators were preparing a bill that could push it towards exiting the treaty, ratified by Iran in 1970. The accord guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forgo atomic weapons and co-operate with the IAEA.
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Iran: EU leaders threaten snapback sanctions over nukes
Foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have submitted a letter of intent to the United Nations. The letter, seen by news agency AFP and the Financial Times newspaper, was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as the UN Security Council. The three cited so-called “snapback mechanisms” that allow sanctions to be reinstated if Iran fails to comply with the conditions of the JCPOA, which sought to end Tehran’s nuclear program. Critics say Iran’s religious leaders aim to create a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has steadfastly denied for years despite being unable to provide reasons for producing large amounts of uranium enriched far beyond grades needed for civilian purposes. The E3 warning came on the heels of face-to-face meetings with Iranian counterparts last month in Istanbul, Turkey. Those talks, the first to take place after the Israeli and US attacks, were described as “serious, frank and detailed”
The letter, seen by news agency AFP and the Financial Times newspaper, was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as the UN Security Council.
In it, the E3 representatives said that their countries — all of which were signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or “Iran nuclear deal” alongside China, Russia and the United States — “committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon” if Tehran does not seek to arrive at a diplomatic solution to a current impasse by the end of August.
Is Iran developing nuclear weapons?
The three cited so-called “snapback mechanisms” that allow sanctions to be reinstated if Iran fails to comply with the conditions of the JCPOA, which sought to end Tehran’s nuclear program.
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Critics say Iran’s religious leaders aim to create a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has steadfastly denied for years despite being unable to provide reasons for producing large amounts of uranium enriched far beyond grades needed for civilian purposes.
The JCPOA is set for renewal or expiration in October, in their letter, the E3 wrote, “We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism.”
Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s former foreign minister and now a parliamentarian, told Iranian media that the country is prepared to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons — if international sanctions are reintroduced.
Why has Iran denied access to its nuclear sites?
One of the main criticisms of Iran’s behavior is its refusal to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into its facilities. Iran has strictly limited access to its sites since 2018, when US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA.
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Tehran later shut out IAEA inspectors when Israel began a 12-day assault mainly on Iranian nuclear facilities and the United States — despite having conducted prior “useful” direct talks with Tehran — joined in by conducting massive bomb strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The Tuesday letter states, “The E3 remain fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis caused by Iran’s nuclear program and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution.”
“We are equally ready, and have unambiguous legal grounds, to notify the significant non-performance of JCPOA commitments by Iran … thereby triggering the snapback mechanism, should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August 2025.”
The E3 warning came on the heels of face-to-face meetings with Iranian counterparts last month in Istanbul, Turkey. Those talks, the first to take place after the Israeli and US attacks, were described as “serious, frank and detailed.”
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Despite having shut out IAEA inspectors, Tehran said the UN agency’s boss, Rafael Mariano Grossi, was expected to visit Iran for negotiations on a new cooperation deal.
Iran has claimed that JCPOA signatories have no legal right to reapply sanctions, a claim scoffed at by E3 ministers as “unfounded.”
In refuting Iran’s claim, E3 foreign ministers wrote that signatories are, “clearly and unambiguously legally justified in using relevant provisions” of UN resolutions “to trigger UN snapback to reinstate UNSC resolutions against Iran which would prohibit enrichment and re-impose UN sanctions.”
Edited by: Sean Sinico