Rubio, European Diplomats Eye End-of-August Deadline for Iran Nuclear Deal Amid Sanctions Threat

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have reached a consensus to treat the end of August as the informal deadline for wrapping up a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran. The agreement among Western leaders, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks, marks a critical step in efforts to prevent further escalation with Tehran.

If negotiations fail to produce a resolution by the end of August, the three European countries intend to trigger the “snapback” provision—an automatic reinstatement of all UN Security Council sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). That plan, originally struck during the Obama administration, placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for economic relief.

The snapback process takes approximately 30 days to complete, which European officials hope gives them enough time to act before Russia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council in October—a move that could complicate or delay the enforcement of renewed sanctions.

According to sources familiar with internal discussions, the snapback strategy is being considered both as leverage to push Tehran toward compliance and as a fallback in case diplomatic efforts fully unravel. The decision to push for this deadline emerged after a secure call between Rubio and his European counterparts, aimed at aligning their approach ahead of final negotiations with Iranian officials.

Tehran, however, has pushed back firmly. Iranian officials have rejected the legitimacy of the snapback mechanism, arguing that there’s no legal foundation for reimposing sanctions that were previously lifted. In a show of defiance, Iranian leadership has warned that any move to reactivate UN sanctions may result in Iran withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a cornerstone of global nuclear oversight.

Despite this hardline stance, European diplomats plan to engage with Iran in the coming days, sending a message that there’s still a diplomatic path forward—if Iran takes concrete steps to ease concerns about its nuclear ambitions. The hope, according to sources, is that credible reassurances from Tehran could avert the need for renewed sanctions.

The Biden administration had initially reopened lines of communication with Iran, but following recent hostilities between Israel and Iran, the Trump administration—returned to power earlier this year—has taken a more assertive posture. Since the conflict between Israel and Iran deescalated, the administration has shifted focus toward crafting a more robust nuclear pact, while coordinating closely with U.S. allies.

In his visit to the White House last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and White House envoy Steve Witkoff not to block the snapback mechanism. Netanyahu emphasized the urgency of delivering a clear warning to Iran: resume negotiations or face full-scale UN sanctions once again.

“We believe the administration is on the same page,” one senior Israeli official stated. “There’s consensus on the urgency and the consequences of delay.”

Adding to the mounting pressure, Trump made headlines last month when he confirmed that Israeli operatives had inspected Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility following U.S. airstrikes and reported that the site had been “completely destroyed.”

Speaking at a NATO gathering in The Hague, Trump likened the strikes on Fordow and Natanz to the atomic bombings of World War II, describing them as a turning point in bringing hostilities with Iran to a halt. He asserted that the strikes had delivered a decisive blow and warned Tehran against restarting its uranium enrichment operations.

According to Trump, Israeli teams were able to assess the damage swiftly and confirmed that Iran had no opportunity to relocate sensitive materials from the site before it was hit. The former president also dismissed recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which claimed that 400 kilograms of 60-percent enriched uranium had gone missing.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe supported the administration’s account, stating that several of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites had suffered major damage and that recovery efforts could take years. “This isn’t a short-term setback,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s a multi-year rebuilding process.”

Contradicting earlier assessments, a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report had originally estimated that the strikes only delayed Iran’s program by a few months. However, that report was based on intelligence rated as “low confidence” and was not widely publicized.

Following the leak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the FBI is working alongside the Pentagon to identify the source of the unauthorized disclosure. He added that criminal charges are likely for those involved in compromising national security information.

As the end-of-August deadline approaches, all eyes remain on Tehran—where leadership now faces a stark choice: return to the negotiating table, or risk triggering a cascade of renewed global sanctions that could deepen the country’s economic isolation.