Tehran resumes nuclear talks on Tuesday in Geneva with France, Britain, and Germany, the three European countries party to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which threaten to reimpose sanctions if Iran does not limit uranium enrichment and resume cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, according to Iranian state television. This new round of negotiations, following a previous one in July in Istanbul, will be held at the deputy foreign ministers’ level in Geneva. Iran will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi. The three European countries threaten to activate the ‘snapback’ mechanism stipulated in the nuclear deal by the end of August unless the Islamic Republic agrees to limit uranium enrichment and resume cooperation with the IAEA.

Iran suspended its cooperation with the UN agency in July following a 12-day war launched by Israel, citing the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli and American strikes targeting its nuclear facilities. The snapback mechanism allows the reimposition of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the nuclear deal. The activation deadline expires in October, although Europeans set the end of August as the deadline to activate it if diplomatic efforts fail, and they offered to extend the deadline to allow more time for talks. Iran considers that European countries have no right to activate sanctions under the snapback mechanism or to extend its deadline. The 2015 nuclear deal aimed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, a goal the Islamic Republic consistently denies, while affirming its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

However, the deal became effectively void in 2018 when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States during his first term and reimposed harsh sanctions on the Iranian economy; Tehran responded a year later by gradually abandoning most of its key commitments under the deal. Since then, Iran has criticized Europe for failing to meet its obligations under the agreement.