[Report] According to Reuters, on the 17th local time, the UK, France, and Germany urged Iran to resume nuclear negotiations immediately and warned that if no concrete progress is made by the end of this summer, sanctions against Iran will be reinstated.
The report states that this marks the first time since mid-June when Israeli forces and the United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities that the foreign ministers of Europe, along with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, have spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Following the call, a French diplomatic source indicated that the foreign ministers called for Iran to expedite its diplomatic efforts to reach a “verifiable and durable” nuclear agreement. The ministers also reiterated their determination to activate the “rapid recovery mechanism” if no concrete progress is made before the end of the summer. However, the source did not specify what specific progress the three countries expected from this process.
The report mentions that a resolution concerning the Iran nuclear deal under the UN Security Council is set to expire on October 18th. According to the terms of the resolution, sanctions could be reinstated in advance, requiring approximately 30 days.
Earlier, the UK, France, and Germany had threatened to initiate a “rapid recovery sanctions” mechanism against Iran. This so-called “rapid recovery sanctions” mechanism refers to the possibility of quickly resuming sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations on Iran if it is deemed to have violated the terms of the agreement. In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bagheri stated on the 14th local time that the threat of sanctions by the European countries was a serious violation of the commitments made in the Iran nuclear deal. Iran would respond accordingly. He also mentioned that Israel is the root cause of regional instability. Bagheri described the threat of using the “rapid recovery sanctions” as purely political behavior. This aligns with the US stance against Iran, and Iran will undoubtedly respond.