By Al-Fassel | 2025-07-23

The Iranian regime appears poised to return to nuclear negotiations, as US and European diplomats imposed an August deadline for compliance, with the warning that international sanctions otherwise may be reimposed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and foreign ministers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom agreed during a July 14 phone call to establish the end-of-August deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported July 15.

The diplomatic coordination came as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which restricts the Iranian regime's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, approaches its October expiration date.

Britain, France, Germany and the European Union informed Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on July 17 of "their determination to use the 'snapback' mechanism," France's foreign ministry said.

The mechanism allows for the reimposition of all international sanctions against Iran "in the absence of concrete progress" toward a nuclear agreement, it said.

The pressure campaign yielded immediate results, with Tehran confirming July 21 that it would participate in talks scheduled for July 25 in Istanbul.

"In response to the request of European countries, Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a report carried by Iranian state TV.

Compliance path

The Iranian regime can avoid snapback sanctions by taking concrete steps to reassure world powers about its nuclear program, including resuming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring, Axios reported.

This also would include removing approximately 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity from the country, it said.

The IAEA says Iran remains the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60% -- far beyond the 3.67% cap established by the 2015 accord and dangerously close to the 90% required for nuclear weapons.

"Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon," a German diplomatic source told AFP July 20.

"That is why Germany, France and the United Kingdom are continuing to work intensively in the E3 format to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program."

European powers maintain contact with Iran to schedule additional talks, yet the timeline remains firm, the German source said, adding that "if no solution is reached over the summer, snapback remains an option for the E3."

The Iranian regime's refusal to comply with international nuclear agreements and its threat to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons undermine global nonproliferation efforts.

The increasing control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over Iran's oil industry meanwhile demonstrates the militarization of the economy, which enables the regime to fund destabilizing regional activities.