US, European Allies Set End-August Deadline for Iran Nuclear Deal or Sanctions ‘Snapback’: Report

WASHINGTON, Jul 16 (Alliance News): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the UK have agreed to set the end of August as the de facto deadline for reaching a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran, Axios reported, citing three diplomatic sources.

The joint stance was finalized during a recent telephonic conversation among the four Western leaders.

If no agreement is reached by that time, the three European powers reportedly intend to trigger the “snapback” mechanism — a provision under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that allows for the automatic reimposition of all United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran.

The move comes amid rising tensions and a diplomatic impasse following Israel’s military strikes last month on Iranian nuclear sites, which derailed the sixth round of US-Iran negotiations.

Those talks, mediated by Oman, were the highest-level contacts since Washington exited the JCPOA in 2018.

US President Donald Trump, returning from a trip to Pittsburgh, told reporters that while Iran has signaled interest in talks, he was “in no rush” to engage.

“They would like to talk. I’m in no rush to talk because we obliterated their sites,” he said, referring to the joint Israeli-US strikes on June 13.

Iran, for its part, has made clear it will not participate in negotiations that require abandoning uranium enrichment — a sticking point in previous talks. “If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place,” said Ali Velayati, senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has maintained Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and signaled that Tehran remains open to dialogue, but not at the cost of its sovereign nuclear development rights.

With both sides entrenched in their positions and the deadline approaching, the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough appears increasingly tenuous.

A failure to reach a deal would likely result in significant geopolitical fallout, including the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions and a further escalation in regional tensions.