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DUBAI: Iran said Friday its foreign minister spoke by phone with his French, German and British counterparts to avoid the reimposition of UN sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program, just days ahead of a European deadline.

The call by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came as the three countries threatened to invoke the “snapback” provision of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by month’s end, allowing any party to reimpose sanctions if they find Iran out of compliance with requirements such as international monitoring of its nuclear program.

The Europeans’ concern over the Iranian program, which had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels before the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June saw its atomic sites bombed, has only grown since Tehran cut off all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the conflict’s wake. That has left the international community further blinded to Iran’s program — as well as the status of its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.

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 say Iran had a nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

After the call, a statement released on Araghchi’s behalf via Telegram said he criticized the countries’ “legal and moral qualifications” to threaten to reinstate the sanctions, but insisted talks would continue.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it acts authoritatively in self defense, has never abandoned the path of diplomacy and is ready for any diplomatic solution that guarantees the rights and interests of the Iranian people,” the statement said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed on the social platform X that the talks took place, and said another round of discussions would happen next week.

“We have just made an important call to our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear program and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reapply,” he said. “Time is running out.”

That was echoed by Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who said “time is very short.”

“Iran needs to engage substantively in order to avoid the activation of snapback,” he wrote on X. “We have been clear that we will not let the snapback of sanctions expire unless there is a verifiable and durable deal.”

European letter set deadline

In a letter Aug. 8, the three European nations warned Iran it would proceed with “snapback” if Tehran didn’t reach a “satisfactory solution” to the nuclear issues. That deadline would be Aug. 31, in nine days, leaving little time for Iran to likely reach any agreement with the Europeans, who have grown increasingly skeptical of Iran over years of inconclusive negotiations over its nuclear program.

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 program and the 2015 deal gave the agency greater access to keep track of it. Its Board of Governors voted to find Iran out of compliance with its obligations to the agency the day before the Iran-Israel war began.

Iran has also threatened its director-general, Rafael Mariano 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.

Alongside the European call with Iran, IAEA officials in Vienna were to meet with Iranian officials, a diplomat close to the agency told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting. Those talks would be a continuation of a discussion held during an Aug. 11 visit to Tehran by Massimo Aparo, a deputy to Grossi, the diplomat added. Iranian state television also acknowledged the meeting would happen.

Iran tries to downplay ‘snapback’ threat

Araghchi has sought to downplay the threat that “snapback” poses. In his statement after the call, he said Iran would discuss the “snapback” threat with its friends, likely meaning China and Russia.

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 war.