Senior officials from Iran met Tuesday with representatives of Europe’s top three powers in Geneva to discuss the Westerners’ demand that Iran revive nuclear inspections and diplomacy or face the reimposition of sanctions that were lifted under a 2015 deal.
France, Britain and Germany, known as the E3, have long threatened to trigger the “snapback” of sanctions at the United Nations Security Council by October, when the now largely defunct nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers expires.
They have more recently said they plan to decide by the end of August unless Iran offers concessions that could convince them to hold off for a short time, often referred to as an extension. Talks are tense as Iran is furious at the bombing in June of its nuclear facilities by the US and Israel, the E3’s allies.
“We are going to see whether the Iranians are credible about an extension or whether they are messing us around. We want to see whether they have made any progress on the conditions we set to extend,” one E3 official said.
Those conditions are the resumption of UN inspections, including accounting for Iran’s large stock of enriched uranium, and engaging in diplomacy, including with the United States. Iran has repeatedly ruled out direct talks with Washington.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday after the meeting that Tehran remained committed to diplomacy and a mutually beneficial solution.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (C), flanked by Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (L), France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (2nd R) and EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (R), makes a statement following their meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister on Tehran’s nuclear program, in Geneva, June 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini / AFP)
“It is time for the E3 and the UN Security Council to make the right choice and give diplomacy the time and space it needs,” he said in a post on X.
“Our focus is on preventing actions or incidents that may be costly for the country,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei during a weekly press conference before the meeting in Geneva.
He added that Tehran was “negotiating with all our might.”
Officials in Geneva said they did not expect public statements to be made there during the meeting. The European Union, which serves as coordinator of the 2015 deal, was also due to attend.
Illustrative: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, are seen during the ‘National Day of Nuclear Technology,’ in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency / AFP)
Enrichment drive
Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60 percent fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons-grade, and had enough material enriched to that level, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons before Israel began its aerial bombings of nuclear facilities in June.
Actually producing a weapon would take more time, however, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has said that, while it cannot guarantee Tehran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful, it has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons project in the Islamic Republic.
While Iran’s enrichment plants were badly damaged or destroyed in the June war, Tehran has not granted the IAEA access to them since then, arguing that they are not safe for inspectors. The status and whereabouts of Iran’s large stockpile of enriched uranium are also unclear.
“Due to the damage to our nuclear sites, we need to agree on a new plan with the agency — and we’ve conveyed that to IAEA officials,” one Iranian official said.
Western officials have said they suspect Iran has returned to negotiating tactics aimed at buying time and dragging talks out. The E3 will seek to determine in their talks on Tuesday whether that is now the case.
Tehran has warned of a “harsh response” if sanctions are reinstated.
Iranians chant slogans and wave national flags as they celebrate a ceasefire between Iran and Israel at Enghlab Square in the capital Tehran on June 24, 2025. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran-Israel war appeared to be holding on June 24, after 12 days of strikes that saw Israel and the United States pummel the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 31 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
In all, there were 36 missile impacts and one drone strike in populated areas, causing damage to 2,305 homes in 240 buildings, along with two universities and a hospital, and leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.
The war also saw the United States carry out strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
