UNITED NATIONS, August 28. /TASS/. Panama, which holds the UN Security Council presidency for August, confirmed that the United Kingdom, Germany, and France (E3) have begun the process of reimposing sanctions on Iran following the collapse of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

"Yes, they sent a letter formally notifying their request to activate the snapback," a spokesman for Panama's permanent mission to the UN told reporters.

Reuters earlier reported that European countries had indicated their readiness to continue negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program until the end of September. On August 27, the E3 foreign ministers informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of their decision to trigger the snapback mechanism, which would reinstate UN Security Council sanctions against Iran.