US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the UK agreed in a phone call on Monday to set the end of August as the de facto deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported, citing three sources.
If no deal is reached by that deadline, the three European powers plan to trigger the "snapback" mechanism, which automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions lifted under the 2015 Iran deal, according to the Axios report.
The four nations are reportedly considering the potential implementation of snapback measures before Russia, a critical Iranian ally, assumes the presidency of the UNSC.
Europe to push Iran on steps to make a deal
While the West seems to view the snapback measures as a way to bring Tehran to the negotiating table, Iran argues that they aren't legally valid and has threatened to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in response.
Axios reported that the European allies now plan to convey to Iranian officials that they can avoid the sanctions if they take steps to demonstrate their commitment to achieving a deal of sorts. The report gave examples of steps Tehran could take, such as resuming operations with the International Atomic Energy Agency or removing 400 kg of enriched uranium from nuclear sites.
This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Donald Trump not to block the snapback measures in their recent meeting in Washington, Axios reported.
Netanyahu also reportedly told Trump to press the Iranians to make a deal quickly in order to avoid imposing sanctions.
"We felt that Trump and his team agreed with us," an Israeli official told Axios.