Iran has signaled its willingness to continue nuclear negotiations with Europe’s E3 group–comprised of France, Germany and the UK–following face-to-face talks in Istanbul on July 25. Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi stated further rounds would take place “soon,” though no breakthrough had occurred from previous dialogue rounds. According to Bloomberg.com and Reuters reports.
Friday’s meeting marked the first face-to-face engagement between E3 members since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure, according to Iranian officials. Iranian officials described it as “serious, frank, and detailed”, covering issues like Iran’s growing stockpile of near weapons-grade enriched uranium — estimated at 400 kg near weapons grade — and cooperation with UN nuclear inspectors. By some accounts this meeting also served as a precursor for future dialogues around Syria and Iran nuclear issues
European diplomats emphasized that, unless Iran shows it is willing to collaborate and provide transparency, they may push to trigger the UN Security Council’s “snapback” sanctions mechanism by late August. France 24 and Reuters provided updates. Axios did as well.
Iran Reasserts Right to Uranium Enrichment Under NPT
Iran asserted its right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and rejected attempts to extend UN Resolution 2231–labeling such discussions “baseless.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that enrichment is non-negotiable as it represents Iranian people’s rights. (AP News +2Wikipedia +Reuters).
Gharibabadi warned that snapback sanctions would be illegal under international law and threatened withdrawal from the NPT if implemented.
Bloomberg.com/Wikipedia +11 and AP News each have articles supporting this claim.
Technical Re-engagement With IAEA
On the sidelines, Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, revealed that technical-level talks could soon resume with Iran being invited by an IAEA team for inspection of bombed nuclear sites; however Iran currently refuses such inspections out of safety concerns.
Iran’s diplomatic team insists that ongoing discussions with Europe must remain independent from any potential U.S. outreach, while Gharibabadi confirmed Iran’s demand for trust-building before engaging Washington and expressed suspicion that U.S. diplomatic gestures might be tied to coordinated military plans with Israel.
Axios +2 The Wall Street Journal +2
Stakes and Deadlines
Both parties agreed to return to talks without setting an exact schedule; Europe has set an informal deadline of end August for either reaching progress or initiating sanctions via snapback; Iran can expect technical inputs and clarification on its stockpile data not fully disclosed by Europe; this information has yet to be fully revealed to European officials, according to reports by Reuters and AP News.
Without renewed efforts from Tehran to restore IAEA cooperation and limit enrichment, observers believe sanctions activation could happen more rapidly. Without significant steps towards these ends from Tehran, diplomatic momentum could lose steam before reaching agreed deadlines.
Broader Context and Implications These talks come after U.S.-Iran indirect talks collapsed earlier in 2025 due to Israeli strikes disrupting their process, and since then Iran has defied IAEA inspections by rapidly increasing enrichment output, further exacerbating tensions. Reuters/AP News [+11].
Iran sees engaging Europe as an effective means to reduce sanctions risk while protecting its nuclear capabilities without prematurely trusting Washington. Meanwhile, Europeans remain determined to avert a fresh sanctions snapback and ensure further stability across the Middle East region.
In short, the coming weeks will test whether incremental diplomacy with the E3 can pave the way for broad engagement–or whether hardened positions on enrichment, inspections, and sanctions will derail it altogether.