Iran, E3 FMs to hold call on snapback

The foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany will jointly hold a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday regarding their threat to “snap back” UN sanctions on Iran later this month if Iran does not take steps to address their concerns over its nuclear program, an informed diplomatic source tells Diplomatic.

In addition, a delegation from Iran will travel to Vienna on Friday to meet with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the source said.

The diplomatic activity takes place two months after the Israeli and American bombing campaign of Iran’s nuclear program, and subsequently reduced Iranian cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog agency in its wake.

The three European powers wrote the UN leadership on Aug. 8 outlining the steps they would seek Iran to take to avert their triggering snapback. They said they had proposed to Iran a brief extension on the matter, but had yet received no Iranian response:

Direct negotiations between Iran and the US must resume urgently. The E3 stand ready to support this process.

To this end, the E3 have offered Iran a limited extension of the relevant provisions of UNSCR 2231, in exchange for Iran resuming negotiations and addressing some of the international community’s most immediate concerns regarding· the transparency and extent of its nuclear programme. To date, the offer put forward by the E3 has remained unanswered by Iran.

Such an extension would be granted to provide additional time for negotiations with the aim of concluding a new agreement, while maintaining the possibility of resorting to the reestablishment of relevant sanctions against Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation.

U.S. officials have anticipated that snapback will be triggered if there is not a more robust show of Iranian willingness to address western concerns. They have also pressed Iran for direct talks.

Iran’s Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran did not yet see the conditions for “effective” negotiations with the United States.

"In my opinion, we have not yet reached the point of maturity where effective negotiations with the U.S. can take place," Araghchi said in remarks reported by Iranian state media.

Update Friday Aug. 22, 2025: French Foreign Minister Barrot Jean-Noel Barrot reported on the call on Twitter:

With my colleagues @DavidLammy, @AussenMinDE, and @kajakallas, we just had an important call with our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear program and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reapply.

Time