European powers threaten to reinstate sanctions on Iran

Britain, France, and Germany have formally warned that they will move to restore United Nations sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached by the end of August.

The joint stance was laid out in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council, released Wednesday.

The three European governments, known collectively as the E3, stressed they remain “committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.”

“Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot posted on X, sharing the letter publicly.

L’Iran ne peut en aucun cas accéder à l’arme nucléaire. Si l’Iran persiste à violer ses obligations internationales, la France et ses partenaires allemand et britannique réenclencheront fin août les embargos mondiaux sur les armes, les équipements nucléaires et les restrictions… pic.twitter.com/uoTVQnkbbF

— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) August 13, 2025

He added that if Tehran continues breaching its commitments, the E3 would reinstate “the global embargoes on arms, nuclear equipment and banking restrictions that were lifted 10 years ago at the end of August.”

The letter warns that the E3 are prepared to trigger the “snapback mechanism”, a provision of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that allows any signatory to restore Security Council sanctions if Iran fails to comply. That mechanism, part of a deal involving the United States, China, and Russia, aimed to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

The warning follows a sharp deterioration in relations after a 12-day war in June between 'Israel' and Iran, during which 'Israel' targeted Iranian nuclear facilities. The US carried out separate airstrikes during the hostilities. In response, Tehran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), cutting off inspectors’ access to its nuclear sites. The IAEA’s deputy chief is expected in Tehran soon for talks on a possible new cooperation agreement.

E3 officials accuse Iran of multiple violations, including stockpiling more than 40 times the amount of enriched uranium allowed under the JCPOA. They also rejected Iran’s claim that the Europeans have no legal right to reimpose UN sanctions.

“We are equally ready, and have unambiguous legal grounds, to notify the significant non-performance of JCPOA commitments by Iran … thereby triggering the snapback mechanism, should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August 2025,” the ministers wrote.

While the US began indirect nuclear talks with Iran earlier this year, the June strikes effectively froze those channels. Iran continues to deny it is seeking nuclear weapons.

The JCPOA is set to formally expire in October, raising fears that a failure to reach an agreement by the summer deadline could trigger a return to the sweeping UN sanctions regime that was lifted a decade ago.