The US, France, Germany and the UK have decided to set the end of August as the deadline for reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran, otherwise sanctions previously lifted against the Islamic Republic will be reinstated.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom agreed during a telephone conversation on Monday to set the end of August as the effective deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran,” three sources familiar with the issue said.
If a new agreement is not reached by that date, the three European countries plan to activate the mechanism for the automatic renewal of all UN Security Council sanctions lifted under the 2015 deal with Iran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stressed that the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme still support a diplomatic solution, but that patience is running out.
Tehran had previously reneged on a number of key commitments under the JCPOA, stepping up uranium enrichment and restricting access by international inspectors to its nuclear facilities. These moves have raised concerns in the EU and the US, particularly in light of the heightened regional tensions.
