France, the U.K. and Germany have told the United Nations they support reinstating snapback sanctions on Iran, if it doesn’t re-enter dialogue with the West over its nuclear program, according to reporting by the Financial Times.
“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” ministers of the three countries — using an acronym that describes the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal — said in a letter obtained by the FT.
The reported letter was delivered to the U.N. Security Council and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres two months after Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities over the course of a 12-day conflict that set regional tensions and energy prices soaring.
CNBC was not able to immediately verify the report and has contacted the Iranian foreign ministry and mission to the UN for comment.
‘Snapback’ sanctions are part of a mechanism that was built into the original 2015 Iranian nuclear deal — formally titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA. The deal removed a number of sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program.
