MOSCOW: The Iranian and Russian presidents discussed Tehran’s nuclear programme on Monday as European powers threaten to reimpose sanctions on Iran over the moribund 2015 deal.

Britain, France and Germany have threatened to trigger a “snapback mechanism” to reintroduce UN sanctions that were lifted under the agreement unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspectors.

Iran will hold talks with the European trio in Geneva on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported. “On Tuesday, Iran and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with the European Union, will hold a new round of talks at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Geneva,” the state television said.

The meeting will be the second since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in mid-June, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. The previous round of talks was held in Istanbul on July 25.

Tehran to hold negotiations with Britain, Germany and France today

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said on Monday, in which the pair “touched on the situation around Iran’s nuclear programme”.

It did not elaborate on what the pair discussed.

The Iranian presidency said Pezeshkian had thanked Putin for supporting Tehran’s “right to enrichment” and said Iran was “not seeking, and will never seek to build nuclear weapons”.

The two countries have bolstered political, military and economic ties during Russia’s military offensive on Ukraine.

Iran has regularly sought to coordinate its position with both Russia and China before key nuclear talks with the United States and Europe during the current stand-off.

Russia’s Kommersant business paper reported on Monday that Moscow opposed the idea of “snapback” sanctions.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2025