According to information disseminated by the Reuters agency, European foreign ministers and the European Union's top diplomat held a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi a month after the attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities orchestrated by Israel and the U.S.
As reported by the agency citing a French diplomatic source, the ministers urged Iran to swiftly resume efforts to reach a verifiable and robust agreement, threatening to immediately reinstate sanctions through a snapback mechanism if rejected.
However, on his X (Twitter) page, Abbas Araghchi dismissed the threats and wrote to the European foreign ministers that it was the United States, not Iran, that abandoned the negotiating table in June of this year and chose a military path. He called on them to "act responsibly, refrain from policies of threats and pressure, including abandoning 'reckless or legally baseless' policies."
The Iranian top diplomat also added that negotiations are only possible if "the other side is prepared for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear agreement."
"If Iran is found to be in violation, a 'snapback' mechanism could be used to swiftly reimpose UN sanctions until the expiration of the Security Council resolution reinforcing the agreement on October 18," Reuters reports. "The process would take approximately 30 days."
It is noted that despite Tehran's statements about openness to diplomacy, there is very little confidence that the sixth round of negotiations with Washington will resume soon.
"Even if it does, diplomats say the deadline set by Europeans to achieve a comprehensive agreement by the end of August—especially without the participation of IAEA inspectors—seems unrealistic," the Reuters source stated.
We recall that against the backdrop of military tensions between Israel and Iran, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and the UK met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on June 20.
