After signaling the snapback mechanism: Iranian-European talks scheduled for Friday in Istanbul

21st July 2025

2 minutes read

After signaling the snapback mechanism: Iranian-European talks scheduled for Friday in Istanbul

Following warnings that failure to resume negotiations could lead to the reimposition of international sanctions on Iran, Tehran is set to hold nuclear talks with three European powers in Istanbul on Friday.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated early Monday that Iran, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul this Friday.

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Iranian state media quoted Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, “The meeting between Iran, the UK, France, and Germany will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers.”

The planned talks come after the foreign ministers of the so-called E3 countries — the UK, France, and Germany — along with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, held their first call last Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month.

These three European nations, along with China and Russia, remain parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, from which the United States withdrew in 2018. That agreement lifted sanctions on Iran in return for limitations on its nuclear program.

The E3 has announced that it would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran through the “snapback mechanism” by the end of August if the stalled nuclear negotiations — suspended following the air conflict between Israel and Iran — do not resume or fail to produce tangible results.

The Snapback Mechanism

In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General, Araghchi rejected the European trio’s claims of triggering the 2015 nuclear deal’s mechanisms. He stated, “It is unacceptable, and must not be allowed, for the three European countries to undermine the credibility of the UN Security Council by misusing a resolution they themselves have not adhered to.”

He stressed that the three European countries, “having violated the core principles of the nuclear agreement and consistently and continuously failed to fulfill their obligations, have effectively forfeited their status as active participants in the deal. Any attempt on their part to revive previously annulled Security Council resolutions is invalid and illegal.”

He added: “In response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement, Iran first fully utilized all dispute resolution mechanisms set forth in the accord and then gradually adopted corrective measures in accordance with Article 36. In this process, Iran made significant efforts to persuade the remaining signatories to return to their commitments. However, not only did the European trio fail to meet their obligations, they actively took part in enforcing the US’s ‘maximum pressure’ policy and, more recently, contributed to military aggression against our people. Such actors with this track record cannot credibly claim good faith.”