Iran and European powers held talks in Istanbul over Tehran’s nuclear programme but appeared to make no concrete decisions before a deadline to reimpose UN sanctions in September.
"Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas, the various aspects of which were examined," Kazem Gharibabadi, one of Iran's deputy foreign ministers and nuclear negotiators, said in a post on X after the meeting. "It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."
Representatives from the foreign ministries of the UK, France and Germany met Mr Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, another deputy foreign minister, at the Iranian consulate in the Turkish city. There was no immediate comment from European parties to the talks.
These were the first in-person discussions between Iran and the European countries, known as the E3, since the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June and subsequent US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The negotiations centred on the so-called snapback mechanism. As part of the 2015 nuclear deal's dispute resolution clauses, it allows remaining parties to the accord to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran that are due to expire in the autumn.
They include arms embargoes, asset freezes and restrictions on Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes. The US cannot use the mechanism because President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 agreement in his first term.
The E3 have until mid-September to decide whether or not to use the snapback mechanism, which must be triggered 30 days before the UN sanctions are set to expire on October 18.
But the apparent lack of progress in Friday's talks further tightens the window of opportunity for a negotiated solution.
Iranian officials have claimed repeatedly that European nations do not have the right to reimpose UN sanctions because they breached commitments under the 2015 deal and adopted what Tehran saw as pro-Israeli stances during the war in June.
"We explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," Mr Gharibabadi said in his statement on Friday.
Last Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told foreign ministers from the E3 that they have no grounds to reactivate UN sanctions after they threatened to do so unless there is progress in nuclear talks.
If the snapback process is not used and UN embargoes expire in October, Iran could in theory advance its nuclear programme without international restrictions, although remaining US sanctions would probably still complicate any such efforts.
Clock ticking on sanctions
Analysts and diplomats have said European powers could offer Iran an extension to the deadline. That could allow time for negotiations between Tehran and Washington to reach a replacement deal to the 2015 accord, imposing limits on Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. Such a move would probably come in exchange for commitments from Iran to co-operate with international nuclear inspectors and re-engage in talks with the US.
"A snapback extension remains a difficult means to an even more difficult end – securing new US-Iran negotiations and a new nuclear deal," Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an analysis on the mechanism this week. "But Europeans need to be fully invested in this process."
But Iranian officials have voiced scepticism over an extension. “We oppose it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media on Friday, before the talks with the E3. The talks in Istanbul were an opportunity for European countries “to make up for their previous unconstructive approaches that have tarnished Europe's credibility”, he added.
At the same time, ministers in Iran have voiced willingness to return to talks with Washington, but want guarantees that the US and Israel will not attack the country again while diplomacy is continuing.
Iran and the US held five rounds of negotiations in Rome and Oman this year, before a sixth round was cancelled when Israel attacked Iran in June.
The talks had also faltered over Iran’s rights to uranium enrichment, which Tehran wants to continue, with possible limits. The US position hardened during the talks and Washington wants to deny Iran any nuclear enrichment capacity under a deal.
Tehran has also agreed to host a technical team from the UN nuclear watchdog to discuss future co-operation.
The development came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian this month ended co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and said it could only be restored if the agency addressed Tehran's concerns over perceived bias.
Future work with the agency will be co-ordinated by Iran's Supreme National Security Council, whose decisions are only effective once approved by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for strictly peaceful purposes and denies seeking to develop a bomb. But uranium enrichment levels of up to 60 per cent, far exceeding the needs of civilian purposes, have raised suspicions in the West that Iran wants to build a weapon.
Speaking in Tehran before Friday's talks, Mr Araghchi said his country’s position would be made “completely clear". "The Islamic Republic of Iran, while advancing its peaceful nuclear programme, has always been ready to adopt confidence-building measures," he added.
“Especially after the recent war, it is important for [the E3] to understand that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s position remains unshakable, and that our uranium enrichment will continue,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Mr Araghchi as saying.
