LONDON, August 13. /TASS/. The E3 countries - the United Kingdom, Germany, and France - have urged the UN to activate the snapback mechanism, which would reinstate UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran if negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program are not resumed, the Financial Times reported, citing a letter from the foreign ministers of the three nations to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council.

"We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism," the letter reads.

Earlier, Axios reported, citing sources, that the US, UK, Germany, and France had agreed to set the end of August 2025 as the deadline for concluding a nuclear deal with Iran.

In 2015, Iran, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), resolving a standoff that began in 2002 over Western allegations that Tehran was developing nuclear weapons. In 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement and reimposed all US sanctions on Iran. In response, in 2020, the Islamic republic announced it would scale back its commitments under the JCPOA and restrict International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors’ access to its nuclear facilities.