Iran to hold Nuclear talks with Europe in Istanbul
Iran announced on Monday that it will hold nuclear negotiations with France, Germany, and Britain on July 25, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey. This follows threats from those countries to reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a new deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities.
a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, told Iranian state media. “Iran has agreed to hold a new round of negotiations.”
According to the AP, European countries remain part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal signed during the Obama administration, but the first Trump administration withdrew from the agreement. They threaten to activate the deal’s “snapback,” which would allow sanctions to be reimposed if Iran refuses to comply. The countries state they will reinstate United Nations sanctions on Iran by the end of August 2025 if there is no progress on a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities.
The New York Times said that the countries hoped that this threat would restart efforts to rewrite or halt Iran’s ability to enrich uranium. They also want Iran to resume cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Inspectors from the agency used to monitor Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium until Iran stopped cooperating in June after Israel and the United States bombed nuclear sites in the country. Since then, the U.S. and Iran have made no progress toward renewing nuclear talks.
The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese said, “Iran must never come into possession of a nuclear weapon.” Germany, France, and Britain are “continuing to work … at high pressure on a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program…This course of action is also coordinated with the U.S.”
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, stated in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the countries lack “any legal, political, and moral standing” to invoke such snapbacks. The Minister also accused Britain, France, and Germany of failing to uphold their commitments in the deal.
Araghchi also said, “Attempting to trigger ‘snapback’ under these circumstances, in defiance of established facts and prior communications, constitutes an abuse of process that the international community must reject.”
The AP said since Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 deal, Iran has increased its nuclear activities, enriching uranium up to 60%, which is close to weapons-grade nuclear material of 90% enrichment. However, Iran continues to deny that it is seeking a nuclear weapon and claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Sources that helped with this article:
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-talks-europe.html
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-program-sanctions.html
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-iaea.html
Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/iran-europe-nuclear-talks-9ec2f68f0f6aa705b557c360afb4bf0f