Iran, Eurotroika agree to continue talks on Tehran's nuclear dossier

TEHRAN, July 25. /TASS/. Iran and the Eurotroika countries (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) have agreed to continue negotiations on resolving the crisis around Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who participated in a meeting in Istanbul, said.

"Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas and their various aspects have been considered. It was decided to continue consultations on this issue," he wrote on his page on the X social network.

According to the diplomat, the meeting was detailed and sincere. "The latest events, related to the lifting of sanctions and nuclear issues, were discussed," he added.

The Axios news website reported earlier, citing sources, that the US, the UK, Germany and France had agreed to set the end of August as a deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran. Otherwise, the European trio plans to launch the snapback mechanism that will reinstate the UN Security Council's sanctions against Tehran, which were lifted based on the 2015 agreements. The snapback mechanism can be activated starting on October 18, 2025.

Iranian nuclear issue

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany struck a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear program. Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, the US and France have been in talks with Iran in Vienna since April 2021, seeking to restore the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in its original form, without achieving any specific results.

In response to Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA, in 2020, the Iranian parliament passed a law outlining a strategic plan to remove sanctions and protect the Iranian people's interests. As part of this plan, Iran scaled back several obligations under the nuclear deal, particularly by suspending inspections by the IAEA beyond the safeguard agreement related to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and prohibiting the use of stringent monitoring measures.

Earlier, Iran vowed to withdraw from the NPT if the snapback mechanism, allowing for the return of all UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran that were suspended under the JCPOA is activated.

In 2025, five rounds of negotiations between Iran and the US failed to yield significant progress. The diplomatic process was hindered by Israel's military operation targeting Iran, followed by US strikes on three key sites related to Tehran's nuclear program.