Iran, EU seek talks to avert UN sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme

Iran and three European powers held lastminute diplomacy on Friday and agreed to continue talks next week in an effort to head off the threatened reimposition of United Nations sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. The phone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his counterparts from France, Britain and Germany, joined by the European Union's foreign policy chief, set up deputy minister level talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported and European officials confirmed.

The outreach comes amid an internal European deadline at the end of August for the so called snapback mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal. The E3 countries warned they would trigger the U.N. process unless Iran resumes substantive engagement, restores access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and accounts for a large stockpile of enriched uranium. French Foreign Minister Jean Noël Barrot said on social media that the call was "important" and that "time is running out." Germany's foreign minister Johann Wadephul warned that "time is very short" and urged Iran to engage substantively to avoid activation of snapback.

Iran pushed back on the threat. A statement...