France, Germany and UK urge renewed Iran-US nuclear talks

“We are determined to reinitiate negotiations with Iran and the United States towards a comprehensive, durable and verifiable agreement that ensures Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,” the three European countries — France, Germany and Britain said in a joint statement.

They at the same time defended their decision to reimpose the UN sanctions on Tehran via the so-called snapback mechanism over Tehran's non-compliance with its nuclear obligations, urging all UN member states to enforce sanctions on Iran.

The reimposition of restrictions was the right step to address the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program, they said.

“We call on all UN member states to abide by the restrictions reapplied by the snapback mechanism,” they said.

The three countries invoked the measure in August, just two months after Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, accusing Iran of failing to comply with its nuclear obligations, beginning a 30-day process that culminated in the sanctions' return.

US President Donald Trump earlier this year gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to reach a nuclear deal, demanding it end all domestic uranium enrichment. Tehran denies seeking a weapon and sees enrichment as a right.

On June 13, the 61st day since talks began, Israel launched a surprise military campaign which killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians.

On the ninth day of fighting, the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said "obliterated" the country's nuclear program.

The 12-day war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on June 24 but talks between Washington and Tehran have yet to resume.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly last month that Iran remains open to dialogue but that “the wall of distrust with Washington is quite thick and quite tall.”