With a UN deadline days away, France, Britain, and Germany confronted Iran in Geneva over stalled inspections and uranium enrichment, warning of renewed sanctions as Tehran stonewalls diplomacy.
In Geneva on Tuesday, senior officials from Iran and the European “E3” powers—France, Britain, and Germany—met for tense talks over the looming reimposition of international sanctions.
The high-stakes meeting comes just five days before a crucial deadline, as the E3 consider triggering a UN Security Council “snapback” mechanism that would restore punitive measures on Tehran.
European diplomats have been pressing Iran to resume UN nuclear inspections and revive diplomacy following the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. They conditioned any extension on Iran granting access to inspectors, clarifying its stockpiles of enriched uranium, and returning to dialogue—possibly involving the U.S. Tehran, however, has repeatedly rejected direct talks with Washington.
Sources told Axios the Iranians offered “very little to work with”, refusing to present concrete deliverables. One diplomat described the session as “tense,” with Tehran still enraged over the June U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on its nuclear sites, which destroyed key facilities.
Before the strikes, Iran had enriched uranium to 60% purity, dangerously close to weapons-grade, and amassed enough material for six nuclear bombs if further refined. Though the IAEA has found no conclusive evidence of a coordinated weapons program, inspectors remain barred from damaged plants.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi took to X after the talks, insisting Iran was committed to diplomacy but warning against a snapback:
“It is time for the E3 and the UN Security Council to make the right choice and give diplomacy the time and space it needs.”
With the August deadline closing in, E3 leaders will now decide whether to extend talks—or pull the trigger on a sanctions snapback that could plunge relations with Tehran into a new era of confrontation.
