'All reiterated their commitment to ensuring that Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon,' says State Department
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with his French, German and British counterparts to discuss Iran, the State Department announced Wednesday.
Rubio spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, according to a statement from Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
“All reiterated their commitment to ensuring that Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon,” it said.
Barrot, Wadephul, Lammy and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas informed Rubio of their intention to activate the "snapback" sanctions mechanism against Iran on Thursday, according to the Axios news site.
European leaders believe that Iran has violated the 2015 nuclear deal for years without remedial action, said a European diplomat.
The snapback activation process takes 30 days, and Europeans aim to conclude it before Russia assumes the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in October.
The E3 countries remain open to diplomatic engagement with Iran during the implementation period, another diplomat told the news outlet.
Senior Iranian and European officials held talks Tuesday in Geneva on nuclear inspections amid the E3’s threat to trigger the UN sanctions “snapback mechanism.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran warned France, Germany and the UK that any attempt to reimpose sanctions would have consequences but added that both sides agreed to continue discussions in the coming days.
The E3 countries, which remain parties to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have long threatened to reinstate sanctions at the UN Security Council by October, when the deal is due to expire.
Last month, the E3 and the European Union held nuclear talks with Iran in Istanbul.
