Senior officials from Iran and the "E3" European powers - France, Britain, and Germany - met in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss the looming threat of renewed sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported.
The meeting comes just five days before the expiration of a crucial deadline, as the E3 weighs whether to trigger a sanctions "snapback" at the United Nations Security Council.
The E3 have been pressuring Iran to revive nuclear inspections and diplomacy, which have been largely stalled since the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal expired. They had conditioned any extension of the "snapback" on Iran's resumption of UN inspections, including accounting for its large stockpile of enriched uranium, and engaging in diplomacy, which could involve the United States. Tehran has repeatedly ruled out direct talks with Washington.
Tuesday’s talks were reportedly tense, with Iran still furious over the June bombing of its nuclear facilities by the US and Israel, allies of the E3.
According to a source with knowledge who spoke to Axios' Barak Ravid, the Iranians "haven't put tangible detailed deliverables on the table."
A second source told Ravid that the Iranians gave E3 representatives "very little to work with" in their bid for a short extension. With the August deadline fast approaching, E3 and EU political directors will now brief their leadership to make a final decision on the "snapback."
Israel and the United States have consistently stated that they needed to strike Iran's uranium enrichment sites due to the Islamic Republic's rapid advances towards producing a nuclear weapon. Iran, however, denies any intention of developing atomic bombs.
Before the June 13 strikes, Tehran had been enriching uranium to up to 60% fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90% needed for weapons-grade material. It had accumulated enough of this material, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons.
While producing a weapon would take more time, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not found credible evidence of a coordinated weapons project, Iran has not granted the IAEA access to its damaged or destroyed enrichment plants since the attacks.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, in a post on X, reiterated Tehran's commitment to diplomacy but warned against the "snapback."
"It is time for the E3 and the UN Security Council to make the right choice and give diplomacy the time and space it needs," he wrote.