Iran, China and Russia to discuss risk of sanctions being reimposed

DUBAI: Iran, Russia and China will meet on Tuesday to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme and the risk of sanctions being reimposed under the United Nations' snapback mechanism, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.

AI Brief

Iran rules out resuming US nuclear talks but will meet E3 and EU diplomats in Istanbul.
E3 threatens to reimpose sanctions if no nuclear progress is made by August's end.
Iran continues coordination with China and Russia to counter the snapback threat.

Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, have warned they would use the mechanism, which would reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, if there was no progress on nuclear talks by the end of August.

Speaking on Monday, Baghaei said there were currently no plans to resume nuclear talks with the United States, with whom Tehran held five rounds of indirect negotiations prior to Israel's strikes on Iran last month.

Iran's deputy foreign ministers will hold nuclear talks with the E3 and European Union diplomats on Friday in Istanbul, Baghaei said, adding that Tehran would also "seek answers" because the countries did not condemn the Israeli and U.S. strikes.

The three European powers, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. The U.S. withdrew from the pact in 2018.

The meeting between Iran, China and Russia will take place in Tehran at the level of foreign ministry director generals.

"We are continuously coordinating with these countries on how to prevent (the snapback mechanism) or to mitigate its consequences," Baghaei said, adding that the E3 lacked the legal standing to invoke the mechanism.

On Sunday, Ali Larijani in his capacity as presidential envoy, held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss issues such as Iran's controversial nuclear programme.