Americas

US, allies set end of August as deadline for Iran nuclear deal: Axios

If no deal is reached by deadline, 3 European powers plan to trigger 'snapback' of all lifted UN sanctions under 2015 Iran accord

Diyar Guldogan  | 16.07.2025 - Update : 16.07.2025
US, allies set end of August as deadline for Iran nuclear deal: Axios US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

WASHINGTON

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK agreed in a phone call Monday to set the end of August as the de facto deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported Tuesday.

Citing three sources with knowledge of the call, the news site reported that if no deal is reached by that deadline, the three European powers plan to trigger the "snapback" mechanism that automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 Iran accord.

The phone call was aimed at coordinating positions on "snapback" and the path forward on nuclear diplomacy with Iran, the sources said, according to the report.

According to two of the sources, the Europeans now plan to engage with Iran in the coming days and weeks with the message that Tehran can avoid the snapback sanctions if it takes steps to reassure the world about its nuclear program, including resuming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring.

One source said another such step could be the removal from Iran of the roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity that is contained in those sites.

The 2015 agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed by Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – plus Germany. It limited Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium to 202.8 kilograms at low enrichment levels.

The US unilaterally withdrew from the deal on May 8, 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran.

On June 13 this year, Israel, with US support, launched a 12-day offensive on Iran, targeting military, nuclear and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israeli military and intelligence facilities. A US-brokered ceasefire between Tehran and Tel Aviv was announced on June 24.

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