Any new nuclear deal must meet what Iran describes as fair and balanced terms, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday, after a call with European ministers who urged Tehran to return to talks before the end of August or face the possible return of UN sanctions.
“It was the US that withdrew from a two-year negotiated deal, coordinated by the EU in 2015, not Iran,” Araghchi wrote on X after a joint teleconference with the foreign ministers of France, Britain, Germany, and the EU’s top diplomat. “And it was the US that left the negotiation table in June this year and chose a military option instead, not Iran.”
“Any new round of talks is only possible when the other side is ready for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear deal,” he added.
Araghchi warned the EU and E3 powers to abandon “worn-out policies of threat and pressure,” referring specifically to the “snapback” mechanism, which he said they have “absolutely no moral and legal ground” to invoke.
EU urges immediate return to talks
A day earlier, a French diplomatic source said European ministers had pressed Araghchi to return to negotiations “immediately” during the same call. They also warned that if Iran does not make concrete progress toward a deal by the end of August, France, Britain and Germany would trigger the snapback mechanism, reimposing all UN sanctions.
The snapback, created under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, lets any party to the 2015 nuclear deal restore UN sanctions if Iran is found non-compliant. If no resolution is passed within 30 days to extend sanctions relief, all previous measures return automatically.
Tehran accuses US of using diplomacy as cover for war
Iranian state media reported Thursday that senior officials believe Washington is using diplomatic overtures to buy time for military preparations. “Our intelligence indicates Washington seeks talks to prepare for war, not peace,” an unnamed Iranian official told Press TV. The official also accused the US of trying to weaken Iran in advance of a broader regional conflict and said new talks would require firm guarantees.
US says Trump remains open to diplomacy
Despite last month’s joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, the Trump administration says it expects Iran to resume talks. “He has believed and continues to believe that diplomacy will work here,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Thursday. “They should be very grateful that President Trump is as generous of a man as he is.”
Still, US officials acknowledge there is currently “no prospect” for a quick return to negotiations, according to a senior official cited by journalist Laura Rozen.
Hardening Iranian position
Iran’s parliament and senior diplomats have said new talks cannot begin without clear preconditions, including guarantees against further military action. Araghchi and others have also demanded that any future agreement address issues such as Israel’s nuclear arsenal and accountability for the recent war.