France, Germany and the United Kingdom have told the United Nations they are prepared to reimpose international sanctions on Iran unless it resumes nuclear negotiations with the United States and other powers, according to a letter shared by the French foreign ministry.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council, the foreign ministers of the three European nations — known as the E3 — said they were ready to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal if Tehran did not agree to talks before the end of August, or accept an extension to the deadline.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the ministers wrote.
The letter was first reported by the Financial Times and France's Le Monde newspaper.
The letter was signed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Germany’s Johann Wadephul, and Britain’s David Lammy, and comes two months after US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran. The Iranian mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear accord, any signatory can trigger the reimposition of sanctions if Iran is deemed in breach. The sanctions — including arms embargoes, cargo inspections and restrictions on missile development — are set to expire on Oct. 18 unless renewed.
Extension for discussion
The Financial Times said the E3 told Iranian negotiators at talks in Turkey last month they would extend the August deadline if Tehran resumed discussions with Washington and restored cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency before September. One Western diplomat described those talks as “difficult.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the newspaper in July that the European powers had no “legal or moral grounds” for a snapback and warned they would be excluded from future nuclear talks if they went ahead.
Iran bracing for snapback
Separately, Iran International reported earlier this week that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has issued confidential guidance to ministries and major companies to prepare for the possible return of punitive UN measures.
The leaked document said renewed sanctions would target arms sales, freeze overseas assets, and reimpose restrictions on industries such as oil, petrochemicals, banking, shipping, insurance and sensitive technologies.
The ministry warned of “severe currency fluctuations, reduced purchasing power, increased unemployment, layoffs and heightened social discontent” if sanctions return, and urged companies to seek alternative suppliers in countries including China, Russia and Iraq. It also cautioned about heightened cyber threats to economic infrastructure.
Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA in June following a brief war with Israel. A senior from the nuclear watchdog met with Iranian counterparts in Tehran on Monday.
'Iran has hand on trigger for NPT exit'
A senior Iranian lawmaker warned on Wednesday that parliament could move to withdraw Iran from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Western powers reimpose the UN sanctions.
“If the other side takes steps toward operationalizing the snapback mechanism and using it, the Iranian parliament will definitely respond,” Manouchehr Mottaki, a member of parliament’s economic committee, was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
He said lawmakers were “ready to pull the trigger” on an NPT exit, adding that the West had no legal grounds to restore sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal and was using the threat only as leverage.
“If they make their threat a reality, in line with the guidance of the Supreme Leader, we will also make our threat a reality,” Mottaki said.
