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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom agreed during a telephone conversation to set the end of August as the final deadline for a new nuclear deal with Iran.
Axios reports this with reference to diplomatic sources.
“If the talks fail, the European countries will activate the Snapback mechanism, which will automatically reinstate all UN Security Council sanctions cancelled under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the informed sources said.
The decision to agree on a joint pressure strategy was made against the backdrop of no progress in the nuclear negotiations with Tehran. Diplomats believe that only Iran’s real actions, including the resumption of IAEA monitoring and the export of enriched uranium, will prevent a sanctions scenario.
European governments intend to implement the Snapback procedure by October, when Russia will hold the UN Security Council presidency.
In response, Iran threatens to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and calls the re-imposition of sanctions “legally unjustified”.
