Iran is facing a new deadline over its nuclear program. The UK, France, and Germany, known as the E3, have told the United Nations that they are ready to bring back sanctions on Iran. This will happen if Iran does not restart nuclear talks by the end of August.
In a letter to the UN, the three countries said they would use a “snapback” mechanism. This means that old sanctions would be put back in place. The E3 said they had offered to extend the deadline for talks, but Iran never replied.
An Iranian lawmaker has already warned that Iran’s parliament is ready to cancel its nuclear deal if new sanctions are imposed.
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This issue goes back to the 2015 nuclear deal. In that agreement, sanctions on Iran were lifted. In return, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities and let international inspectors into its sites. The deal is set to expire in October.
The US left the deal in 2018 under President Donald Trump. He believed the deal did not do enough to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. When the US left, it brought back all its sanctions on Iran.
Since then, Iran has broken many of the rules of the deal. In May, a UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had more than 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity. This is much higher than what is needed for peaceful uses and is close to the level needed for weapons.
The E3’s letter comes after a period of high tension. In June, Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear sites, which led to a 12-day war. The US also bombed some of Iran’s nuclear sites, ending talks between the two countries. The E3 then stepped up their warnings to Iran.
The E3 countries say they are committed to using “all diplomatic tools” to make sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. Iran, however, has always said it does not plan to build a nuclear weapon.