Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Britain, France and Germany of pursuing a “reckless” strategy on his country’s nuclear programme, warning that their alignment with Washington will only diminish Europe’s global standing.

Writing in The Guardian on Sunday, Araghchi said the decision by the so-called E3 to trigger a process that could reinstate United Nations sanctions “lacks any legal standing” and is bound to fail.

“The truth is that they are intently pursuing a reckless course of action … This is a grave miscalculation that is bound to backfire,” Araghchi wrote.

In August, Germany, France and the United Kingdom – Europe’s largest economies – triggered a 30-day process to activate “snapback” sanctions over what they called “significant” violations of a 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme.

The United States, which bombed three nuclear facilities in June as part of an Israeli assault on Iran, has welcomed the European countries’ move.

Araghchi accused the three powers of ignoring the fact that it was the US, not Iran, that withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While Tehran took what he described as “lawful remedial measures” under the accord, the E3 failed to uphold their own obligations.

Araghchi noted that European leaders once pledged to protect trade with Iran after US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018. “None of it materialised,” he wrote, adding that Europe’s promises of “strategic autonomy” collapsed under US pressure.

Instead, he argued, Europe has acted as a bystander, cheering Washington’s aggressive approach. “Openly cheerleading illegal military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities protected by international law – as Germany’s chancellor has done – does not constitute ‘participation’” in the deal, he wrote.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested in June that the West is benefitting from the Israeli assault against Iran.

“This is dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,” he said.

Araghchi stressed in his Guardian column that Tehran remains open to dialogue. “[Iran] is ready to forge a realistic and lasting bargain that entails ironclad oversight and curbs on enrichment in exchange for the termination of sanctions,” he said.

He cautioned that ignoring this chance could plunge the region into deeper instability, especially amid escalating tensions with Israel. “The powerful armed forces of Iran are ready and able to once again pummel Israel into running to ‘daddy’ to be bailed out,” Araghchi warned, arguing that Israeli provocations risk dragging the US into costly conflicts.

The Trump administration had also claimed that the door remains open for talks with Iran.

“The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran – in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement following the E3 announcement on sanctions last month.

“Snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”

A round of nuclear talks between US and Iranian officials was set to take place on June 15. But Israeli bombs started falling on Tehran two days before the scheduled negotiations, postponing them indefinitely.

Washington insists that Iran cannot enrich uranium domestically, but Iran insists that its right to enrichment is non-negotiable.

The 2015 nuclear deal – which Trump nixed during his first term as US president – gives Iran the right to enrich uranium at a low level for civilian purposes under a strict monitoring system.

The snapback mechanism in the JCPOA gave any party to the agreement – the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia or China – the power to kick-start a process to revive six UN Security Council sanctions resolutions.

And the snapback is veto-proof, meaning Russia and China, both allies of Iran, cannot block the restoration of the sanctions.

In 2020, the US tried to activate the snapback clause of the JCPOA, but the effort failed because Washington was no longer a participant in the agreement.

Andrew Wilks and Stephanie Liechtenstein

Associated Press

Istanbul — Iranian and European diplomats met Friday in Istanbul in the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Representatives from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, gathered at the Iranian consulate building for the first talks since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved U.S. bombers striking nuclear-related facilities.

The talks, which ended after four hours, centered on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program.

The return of sanctions, known as a “snapback” mechanism, “remains on the table,” according to a European diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

“A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,” the diplomat said.

European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran’s nuclear program.

Tehran, meanwhile, has said the U.S., which withdrew from the 2015 deal during President Donald Trump ’s first term, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran’s engagement was dependent on “several key principles” that included “rebuilding Iran’s trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States.”

In a social media post Thursday, he also said the talks shouldn’t be used “as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action.” Gharibabadi insisted that Iran’s right to enrich uranium “in line with its legitimate needs” be respected and sanctions removed.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return.

Gharibabadi described Friday’s talks as “serious, frank and detailed.” Posting on X, he said the two sides discussed lifting sanctions and the snapback mechanism while agreeing to further talks.

“Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas,” he said. “It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue.”

Friday’s talks were held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Gharibabadi and a fellow deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The identity of the E3 representatives were not immediately clear but the European Union’s deputy foreign policy commissioner was thought to be attending.

The U.K., France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside the U.S., Russia and China. When the U.S. withdrew in 2018, Trump insisted the agreement wasn’t tough enough. Under the original deal, neither Russia nor China can veto reimposed sanctions.

Since the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, which saw American B-52 bombers hit three nuclear sites, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations while supporting Israel’s attacks.

Against the backdrop of the conflict, which saw Iran respond with missile attacks on Israel and a strike on a U.S. base in Qatar, the road ahead remains uncertain.

While European officials have said they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out.

Tehran maintains it is open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA.

A central concern for Western powers was highlighted when the IAEA reported in May that Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% – just below weapons-grade level – had grown to over 400 kilograms (882 pounds).

In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared for another war and reiterated that its nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law while adding the country had no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.

A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday the country’s nuclear industry would “grow back and thrive again” after the recent attacks by Israel and the U.S.

Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Iranian and European diplomats met on Friday in Istanbul in the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Representatives from the UK, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, gathered at the Iranian consulate for the first talks since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved US bombers striking nuclear-related facilities.

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The talks, which ended after four hours, centred on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran, that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear programme.

The return of sanctions, known as a “snapback” mechanism, “remains on the table”, according to a European diplomat.

“A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,” the diplomat said.

Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi (Ronald Zak/AP)

European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran’s nuclear programme.

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Tehran, meanwhile, has said the US, which withdrew from the 2015 deal during President Donald Trump ’s first term, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations.

Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran’s engagement was dependent on “several key principles” that included “rebuilding Iran’s trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States”.

In a social media post on Thursday, he also said the talks should not be used “as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action”.

He said Iran’s right to enrich uranium “in line with its legitimate needs” should be respected and sanctions removed.

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Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return.

Mr Gharibabadi described Friday’s talks as “serious, frank and detailed”.

On X, he said the two sides discussed lifting sanctions and the snapback mechanism while agreeing to further talks.

“Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas,” he said. “It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue.”

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Friday’s talks were held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Mr Gharibabadi and a fellow deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi.

A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May.

The UK, France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside the US, Russia and China.

When the US withdrew in 2018, Mr Trump said the agreement was not tough enough.

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Under the original deal, neither Russia nor China can veto reimposed sanctions.

Since the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, in which American B-52 bombers hit three nuclear sites, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations while supporting Israel’s attacks.

Against the backdrop of the conflict, during which Iran responded with missile attacks on Israel and a strike on a US base in Qatar, the road ahead remains uncertain.

While European officials have said they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out.

Tehran maintains it is open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA.

A central concern for western powers was highlighted when the IAEA reported in May that Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% – just below weapons-grade level – had grown to more than 400kg.

(CNN) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom have begun the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The triggering of the so-called snapback sanctions, a move that the United States welcomed on Thursday, comes as diplomatic efforts to restrain Iran’s growing nuclear program have faltered. Tehran has condemned the move and warned there could be consequences for reimplementing sanctions.

The “E3” countries notified the UN Security Council Thursday that they were triggering the snapback mechanism, which would reimpose all UN sanctions that had been previously lifted in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The mechanism was included as part of that agreement, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).

Iran has increasingly breached the nuclear deal after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018.

“Today, Iran’s non-compliance with the JCPoA is clear and deliberate, and sites of major proliferation concern in Iran are outside of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) monitoring,” the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK said in a joint statement on Thursday. “Iran has no civilian justification for its high enriched uranium stockpile.”

“Its nuclear programme therefore remains a clear threat to international peace and security,” the statement added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move Thursday, calling it a “provocative and unnecessary escalation” that would be met with “appropriate responses.” The ministry said in a statement that the E3 decision “will severely undermine the ongoing process of Iran’s interactions and cooperation” with the IAEA.

Iran has spent decades developing its nuclear program, which it maintains is solely for peaceful energy purposes. The country has said it plans to build additional nuclear power plants to meet domestic energy needs and free up more oil for export.

Nuclear plants require uranium – and according to the UN nuclear watchdog, no other country has the kind of uranium that Iran currently does without also having a nuclear weapons program.

Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to restrictions on its centrifuges, dramatically reduce its uranium stockpile, and keep its uranium enrichment levels at no more than 3.67%, down from near 20%. It also agreed to more international inspections of its nuclear facilities. In exchange, Tehran received billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.

But Iran has significantly ramped up its uranium enrichment program since the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018. Tehran started with about 150kg of uranium enriched to 3.6% – which is sufficient for nuclear reactors and a peaceful nuclear program – and now has 50 times its 2018 level.

30-day process

The snapback process takes 30 days, giving Tehran a window to take action to stop the reimposition of the sanctions. The ability to trigger the snapback sanctions expires in October 2025, which prompted the E3 to do so now.

“It’s not a decision that has been taken at all lightly,” a British official said Thursday. The official said the E3 made the decision due to Iran’s “significant noncompliance” with the 2015 deal, its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, and what they described as a lack of “sufficient response on the Iranian side” to reach a diplomatic agreement.

“We don’t think it’s the end of diplomacy, and we remain committed to a negotiated solution,” the official said.

In a letter to the president of the UN Security Council on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the E3 countries wrote that they “will continue to strive to resolve the issue of Iran’s significant non-performance, and affirm that if this issue is resolved before the end of the 30-day period… the E3 will inform the Security Council accordingly.”

“We therefore urge Iran to engage in constructive diplomacy to resolve the concerns associated with its nuclear programme,” they wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNN.

In the European countries’ joint statement, the foreign ministers emphasized that the measures for sanctions and other restrictive measures “are not new.” The measures were previously agreed upon by the UN Security Council and “lifted in light of Iran’s commitments under the JCPoA,” according to the statement.

“However, Iran has chosen not to abide by those commitments,” the joint statement added.

The head of the IAEA on Thursday expressed optimism for renewed inspections, saying, “I think there will be positive elements on the table that perhaps could help avert this possibility of this wide-ranging sanctions.”

“Now there is a period of one month which I think we should take advantage of… The IAEA can establish a good mechanism to return to the places and especially to verify or to check what happened with the material, with the 60 percent highly enriched uranium,” Rafael Grossi told CNN’s Becky Anderson.

Nuclear inspectors returned to Iran this week for the first time since the Israel-Iran conflict in June that saw both Israel and the United States bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, but Grossi confirmed that no formal agreement has been hashed out to allow the inspectors to carry out their work with broad access.

The United States welcomed the move by the E3 to trigger the snapback sanctions while saying it was ready for fresh diplomacy.

“I urge Iranian leaders to take the immediate steps necessary to ensure that their nation will never obtain a nuclear weapon; to walk the path of peace; and to, by extension, advance prosperity for the Iranian people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also welcomed the snapback, calling it an important step toward stopping the country’s nuclear program and increasing pressure on the Iranian regime.

That comes after Israel launched heavy airstrikes against at least one of Iran’s enrichment sites in June, and fired more targeted strikes on Tehran to decapitate the regime’s military leadership.

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran is ready for a real and lasting agreement that includes strict monitoring and limits on its domestic uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. In an opinion piece Aragchi wrote for the Guardian on Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister urged the European nations to change course and abandon their plan to snapback a wide array of UN sanctions at the end of the month and warned of “unprecedentedly destructive” consequences otherwise. “If this short opportunity to change course is missed, it will have consequences that could be unprecedentedly destructive for the region and beyond,” Aragchi warned in his piece titled, “A message from Tehran to Britain, France and Germany: in your own interests, you should change course.”

Tehran is still hoping that Europeans can be persuaded to defer snapping back sanctions at the UN Security Council while arguing that Europe will not benefit from such a move since it will only put the US in the driving seat on negotiating any new nuclear deal and leave Europe isolated. However, conflicting signals are emerging from within Iran.

The minister said that he had made progress in recent talks with the UN weapons inspectors on their terms for their return to Iran’s bombed nuclear sites, one of the preconditions set by Europe for deferring the snapback.

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However, the Iranian parliament is still discussing a bill that would require Iran to leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty if UN sanctions were restored, which would shut off all independent access to its nuclear sites.

‘European leaders making a huge mistake if they think…’

Araghchi, who met with the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, in Doha last Thursday, claims European leaders are making a huge mistake if they think that by being tough with Iran, the US President Donald Trump will stop viewing them as secondary actors and give them a place on the world stage.

The return of UN sanctions “will only exclude the three countries from future diplomatic processes, with widespread negative consequences for the whole of Europe in terms of its credibility and global standing,” he wrote.

‘Trump views European countries as secondary players’

“President Trump has made it clear that he views the three European countries as secondary players, and this is evident in the exclusion of Europe from issues that are vital to its future, including the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Washington’s message is clear: to gain a foothold, the three countries must demonstrate unwavering loyalty.”

“Israel may present itself as capable of fighting on behalf of the west, but as we saw in June, the truth is that Iran’s powerful armed forces are once again ready and capable of defeating Israel to the point where it will be forced to turn to ‘Grandpa’ for salvation,” Aragchi wrote, referring to Israel’s dependence on the US for military hardware.

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