Iran to hold call with Europeans over nuclear programme as sanctions deadline looms

Iran said on Friday that its foreign minister would hold a telephone conference call with his French, German and British counterparts to avoid the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear programme, just days away from the deadline.

The call, planned for Friday by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, comes as the three parties to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal threaten to reimpose those sanctions under a mechanism known as "snapback".

The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will also join the call, IRNA said.

The Europeans' concern over the Iranian program, which had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels before the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict in June that saw its atomic sites bombed, has only grown since Tehran cut off all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

That has left the international community in the dark about the extent of the Iranian programme as well as the status of its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, though it is the only non-nuclear-armed nation enriching uranium at that level.

The US, the IAEA and others assess Iran had a nuclear weapons programme up until 2003.

In an 8 August letter, the three European nations warned Iran it would proceed with "snapback" sanctions if Tehran didn't reach a "satisfactory solution" to the nuclear issues.

That deadline would be 31 August, leaving little time for Iran to reach any agreement with the Europeans, who have grown increasingly sceptical of Iran over years of inconclusive negotiations.

Restoring the IAEA's access is a key part of the talks. Iran has blamed the war with Israel in part on the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, without offering any evidence.

The IAEA issues quarterly reports on Iran's programme and the 2015 deal gave it greater access to keep track of it.

Iran has also threatened its director general, Rafael Grossi, with arrest if he comes to Iran, further complicating talks.

Grossi is considering running to become the UN's secretary general, something Tehran has seized on as well in its criticisms of the Argentine diplomat.

In announcing the call, the IRNA report didn't mention the deadline and instead appeared to suggest Iran's concerns would dominate the discussion.

Quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, IRNA said Araghchi "would discuss lifting of the unlawful sanctions" and "the need for the involved parties to respond to criminal attacks against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities."

The "snapback" power in the nuclear accord expires in October, also putting pressure on the Europeans to potentially use it as leverage with Iran before losing that ability.

Under "snapback," any party to the deal can find Iran in noncompliance, reimposing the sanctions. After it expires, any sanctions effort could face a veto from UN Security Council members China and Russia, two nations that have provided some support to Iran in the past but stayed out of the June conflict.