GENEVA (Chatnewstv.com) — The Iranian regime is under mounting pressure to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States ahead of an August 31 deadline set by the so-called E3 — Britain, France and Germany — to make progress toward a diplomatic solution on Tehran’s nuclear activities.
An Iranian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi is expected to meet E3 officials in Geneva on Aug. 26 to discuss the looming threat of snapback sanctions, which would restore United Nations restrictions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said last week that the European powers will not hesitate to act if Tehran refuses to engage.
“The E3 will activate the snapback mechanism to reimpose United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran unless Iran agrees to a verifiable, durable deal,” Lammy said on Aug. 22.
A senior French diplomat told Saudi media on Aug. 25 that the Geneva meeting represented “the last window open to the Iranian side.”
The E3 deadline requires Iran to take concrete steps, including renewed cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and a return to talks with Washington. European officials have offered to delay the expiration of the snapback mechanism, currently set for October 2025, but Tehran has so far rejected that option. If the E3 wishes to complete the process before the October deadline, it must trigger the mechanism by Sept. 3.
The snapback provision would reinstate six U.N. Security Council resolutions against Iran, banning arms transfers, curbing missile development and enrichment activities, and halting support for Iran’s missile program.
Inside Iran, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani is said to be urging the government to scale back uranium enrichment from 60% to 20% to avert sanctions and potential military action by the U.S. or Israel, according to The Telegraph.
A senior Iranian official told the newspaper that Larijani fears “another war with the United States or Israel could present a major challenge to the regime.” The official added that Iranian leaders appear “willing to comply” with his push to lower enrichment levels and reopen dialogue.
Larijani, a moderate who backed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, replaced Ali Akbar Ahmadian as security chief earlier this month amid a reshuffle of Iran’s defense and security leadership following clashes with Israel.
Reports from The Washington Post in July indicated a growing consensus within Iran’s political class that nuclear talks with the United States are necessary. Moderates backing engagement appear to be gaining the upper hand over hardliners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who oppose negotiations.
Meanwhile, Russia and China are moving to shield Tehran from renewed U.N. sanctions. Moscow introduced a draft resolution on Aug. 25 that would extend the snapback deadline by six months to April 2026 and bar the E3 from triggering sanctions during that period. China is expected to co-sponsor the resolution, according to Amwaj Media.
Iran’s response remains unclear. President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have both held recent talks with Russian leaders, while Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi spoke with China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Aug. 24 to discuss the nuclear standoff.
