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E3 and Iran Hold Last-Minute Geneva Talks as UN Snapback Threat Nears

An end-of-August European deadline to restore UN sanctions tests Tehran’s stance following months of restricted IAEA access.

General view of the Iranian Consulate where Iran holds nuclear talks with so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo
Two fishermen are sailing along a beach near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in a coastal village on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province, 1090km (677 miles) south of Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2024. The Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran's first and only active nuclear power plant, was fully operationalized and connected to the national electricity grid in 2011 after a long history of construction delays and political challenges. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AP)
Representatives of Iran and six major powers meet in Vienna, Austria on April 24, 2015, seeking to finalise a historic deal curbing Iran´s nuclear program three weeks after reaching a framework agreement in Lausanne, Swizerland.
In this picture released by the official website of the Iranian Army on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, a missile is fired from a vessel during Iranian navy drill in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

Overview

  • Deputy-level negotiators from Britain, France, Germany and Iran meet Tuesday in Geneva in a final bid to avert the Europeans’ plan to trigger the JCPOA snapback mechanism.
  • The E3 told the UN they will move by the end of August unless Iran resumes talks with the U.S., allows inspectors back into nuclear sites, and accounts for roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.
  • Iran disputes the Europeans’ legal authority to invoke snapback and has warned of consequences, including possible withdrawal from the NPT and further curbs on cooperation with the IAEA.
  • Russia and China publicly oppose an E3-triggered snapback, and a report says Moscow has floated a draft to extend UN Resolution 2231 as the mechanism’s October expiration approaches.
  • If activated, snapback would restore pre-2015 UN sanctions—arms and missile-related restrictions, nuclear trade bans, asset freezes and travel limits—with analysts expecting short-term economic pain tempered by continued trade with partners such as China, the UAE and Iraq.