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The three major European powers delivered an ultimatum to Iran on Thursday
France, Britain and Germany told Iran on Thursday they would reimpose UN sanctions if it did not immediately resume talks on its nuclear program and reach concrete results by the end of August, Reuters reported.
Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group of three major European powers, along with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, held their first telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago.
A French diplomatic source said the ministers urged Iran to immediately resume diplomatic talks to reach a “verifiable and lasting” deal, threatening to use the so-called “snapback” mechanism if it did not do so.
Tehran’s reaction: They have no moral or legal basis
But in a post on X, Araqchi dismissed the threat, saying he told ministers: “It is the United States that left the negotiating table in June this year and chose the military option, not Iran…”
“If the EU/E3 wants to play a role, they should act responsibly and abandon the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including ‘snapback’, for which they have absolutely no moral or legal basis,” he added.
He said negotiations would only be possible “when the other side is ready for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial nuclear deal.”
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal – from which the US withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
European powers set to use snapback mechanism
If Iran is found to be violating the terms of the deal, the snapback mechanism could be used to reinstate UN sanctions before the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the deal expires on October 18. The process would take about 30 days.
Source: hotnews.com
