UNITED NATIONS: European powers said on Friday they were ready to drop a new sanctions push on Iran if it addresses concerns on its nuclear program over the next month, but Tehran denounced the offer as insincere.
Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, triggered the “snapback” mechanism the previous day to reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran for failing to comply with commitments made in a 2015 deal over its nuclear programme.
In July, “we offered Iran an extension to snapback, should Iran take specific steps to address our most immediate concerns,” Barbara Woodward, the British ambassador to the United Nations, said alongside her German and French counterparts ahead of a closed-door Security Council meeting on the issue.
“As of today, Iran has shown no indication that it is serious about meeting” the E3’s requests, she said.
Triggering the snapback mechanism “does not mark the end of diplomacy. Our extension offer remains on the table,” Woodward said.
On a visit to Copenhagen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the 30-day window before the sanctions offered an “opportunity” for diplomacy.
“We have this 30 days to sort things out,” she told reporters.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025