E3 Nations Engage in Urgent Nuclear Talks with Iran in Geneva

Vienna, Aug 26 (AP) Representatives from the E3 nations—Britain, France, and Germany—are poised for urgent negotiations with Iran in Geneva on Tuesday, ahead of the looming deadline to reinstate sanctions by deploying the "snapback" mechanism. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson made this announcement on Monday.

The Geneva talks follow a prior meeting in Istanbul on July 25 between the European nations and Iran. Growing concerns persist over Iran's nuclear activities, notably after Tehran enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels before its nuclear sites were targeted during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict in June. Following the conflict, Iran halted its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), further obfuscating the status of its nuclear program and uranium stockpile enriched to 60 percent purity, which is perilously close to weapons-grade 90 percent.

While Iran maintains its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, it remains the sole non-nuclear-armed nation engaged in such high-level enrichment. The United States, IAEA, and other entities assert that Iran had a nuclear weapons program that continued until 2003. Earlier this year, the Europeans aligned with the US to set an end-of-August ultimatum to trigger the snapback if Iran did not comply with several demands. These include resuming negotiations with the US, granting UN inspectors access to nuclear facilities, and addressing the issue of over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.

The 2015 Iran nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism can be invoked by any signatory should they determine Iran is breaching its obligations. This would swiftly reinstate all pre-deal sanctions without interference from UN Security Council permanent members, including Russia and China, who cannot veto the move.

Iran, however, argues against the legitimacy of this move by the Europeans, alleging that they failed to honor the 2015 nuclear agreement, particularly after the US withdrawal in 2018, which hindered Iran's anticipated economic benefits.

The 2015 accord was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Under the agreement, Tehran committed to restricting uranium enrichment to levels appropriate for nuclear energy, in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. The deal also involved continuous monitoring by UN inspectors.

Originally, the nuclear deal capped Iran's uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent purity, allowed a stockpile of only 300 kilograms, and restricted the use of centrifuges to basic IR-1 models for enrichment purposes. (AP)

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