UNITED NATIONS: European powers said on Friday they were ready to drop a new sanctions push on Iran if it addresses concerns on its nuclear program over the next month, but Tehran denounced the offer as insincere.

Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, triggered the “snapback” mechan­ism the previous day to reinstate UN sanctions on Te­hran for failing to comply with commitments made in a 2015 deal over its nuc­l­e­­ar programme.

In July, “we offered Iran an extension to snapback, should Iran take specific steps to address our most immediate concerns,” Bar­bara Woodward, the British ambassador to the United Nations, said alongside her German and French counterparts ahead of a closed-door Security Council meeting on the issue.

“As of today, Iran has shown no indication that it is serious about meeting” the E3’s req­uests, she said.

Triggering the snapb­ack mechanism “does not mark the end of diplomacy. Our ext­en­­si­­on offer remains on the table,” Woodward said.

On a visit to Cope­n­hagen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the 30-day window before the san­ctions offe­­red an “opportunity” for diplomacy.

“We have this 30 days to sort things out,” she told reporters.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025