Britain, France, Germany warn UN of Iran sanctions snapback by month's end
The letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council says the three European powers are 'committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon' unless Tehran meets the deadline.
The foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group threaten to use a 'snapback mechanism' that was part of a 2015 international deal with Iran that eased UN Security Council sanctions.
Under the deal, which terminates in October, any party to the accord can restore the sanctions.
All three have stepped up warnings to Iran about its suspension of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
That came after Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June, partly seeking to destroy its nuclear capability. The United States staged its own bombing raid during the war.
'We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,' foreign ministers Jean-Noel Barrot of France, David Lammy of Britain and Johann Wadephul of Germany said in the letter.
All three countries were signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with the United States, China and Russia that offered the carrot and stick deal for Iran to slow its enrichment of uranium needed for a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the accord in 2018 during his first term and ordered new sanctions.
The European countries said they would stick to the accord. But their letter sets out engagements that the ministers say Iran has breached, including building up a uranium stock more than 40 times the permitted level under the 2015 deal.
'The E3 remain fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis caused by Iran's nuclear programme and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution.
'We are equally ready, and have unambiguous legal grounds, to notify the significant non-performance of JCPOA commitments by Iran... thereby triggering the snapback mechanism, should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August 2025,' the ministers wrote in the letter first reported by the Financial Times.
End of cooperation
The United States had already started contacts with Iran, which denies seeking a weapon, over its nuclear activities.
But these were halted by the Israeli strikes in June on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Even before the strikes, the international powers had raised concerns about the lack of access given to IAEA inspectors.
Iran halted all cooperation with the IAEA after the strikes, but it announced that the agency's deputy chief was expected in Teheran for talks on a new cooperation deal.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the UN last month saying that the European countries did not have the legal right to restore sanctions.
The European ministers called this allegation 'unfounded'.
They insisted that as JCPOA signatories, they would be 'clearly and unambiguously legally justified in using relevant provisions' of UN resolutions 'to trigger UN snapback to reinstate UNSC resolutions against Iran which would prohibit enrichment and re-impose UN sanctions.' — AFP
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Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Malay Mail
No deals, no ceasefire, no progress on Ukraine in Alaska summit — Phar Kim Beng
AUGUST 13 — The much-anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, was billed as a historic opportunity to end the war in Ukraine. Instead, it concluded with three sobering realities: no deal, no ceasefire, and no tangible progress. For all the pomp, photo opportunities, and symbolic gestures, the meeting revealed more about the limitations of power than the promise of diplomacy. Trump emerged from the two-and-a-half-hour talks proclaiming that 'great progress' had been made, though he simultaneously admitted, 'we're not there yet.' Putin, for his part, called the conversations 'constructive' but issued thinly veiled warnings to Ukraine and Europe about avoiding 'provocations.' The rhetorical flourishes belied the stark truth: there was no concrete roadmap, no framework for de-escalation, and no real concessions. Perhaps the most glaring flaw in the Alaska summit was the absence of Ukraine itself. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leading a nation under relentless attack, had no seat at the table. Instead, Trump suggested afterward that it was now 'up to Zelenskyy to get it done.' Such framing effectively shifts the burden of peace from aggressor to victim, ignoring the principle that any settlement must be shaped with — not around — Kyiv. Putin exploited this exclusion skillfully. By reiterating demands for Ukraine's demilitarisation and permanent exclusion from Nato, he underscored that Russia has not shifted its red lines. For Moscow, diplomacy remains an extension of battlefield objectives, not a substitute for them. The lack of Ukrainian participation risks cementing an imbalance where Russia defines the terms of peace and the West applauds empty gestures. The summit was heavy on optics but light on substance. A B-2 bomber flyover, motorcade pageantry, and even a limousine ride together were meant to project grandeur. Yet these trappings merely highlighted the gap between symbolism and substance. For Trump, projecting strength through spectacle has long been a political reflex. For Putin, accepting the theatre costs nothing while sustaining his war aims. The absence of verifiable outcomes shows how easily diplomacy can become a stage-managed performance that leaves realities on the ground unchanged. The much-anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, was billed as a historic opportunity to end the war in Ukraine. — AFP European allies, already sceptical of Trump's flippant style, found little reassurance in the Alaska proceedings. Paris and Berlin are particularly wary of what they see as Washington's drift toward unilateralism — convening talks that exclude Ukraine while expecting Nato members to continue bearing the economic and military burden of support. This dynamic risks undermining transatlantic solidarity at precisely the moment when Ukraine needs unity most. Moreover, Europe's recent pledge to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 reflects deepening fears of Russian expansionism. Leaders in Nato capitals understand that without a firm and collective stance, Moscow may interpret diplomatic deadlock as strategic licence. The Alaska summit, instead of tightening allied cohesion, may widen existing cracks. While leaders spoke of progress, the battlefield told a different story. Fighting has intensified in eastern and north-eastern Ukraine. Russian forces continue their offensives, while Ukrainian defenders struggle with depleted resources and mounting casualties. Every day without a ceasefire means more destroyed towns, more lives lost, and more uncertainty about the country's future. Diplomacy without teeth does not stop artillery shells. The road ahead The Anchorage summit confirms a hard lesson: power without principle achieves little, and diplomacy without inclusion solves nothing. No amount of rhetoric can mask the absence of results. The war in Ukraine remains unresolved, and its victims are no closer to peace. What is needed now is a recommitment to fundamentals. Any serious process must include Ukraine as a central actor, not an afterthought. Ceasefire terms must be enforced by credible mechanisms, not vague promises. And Western unity must be more than rhetorical solidarity; it requires sustained support, sharper sanctions, and military assistance that deters further Russian aggression. The tragedy of Alaska is that it squandered a rare opportunity for genuine progress. Instead of charting a path to peace, it produced little more than headlines. Until diplomacy moves beyond theatre, the world will continue to watch a brutal war drag on — while those most affected by it remain voiceless at the negotiating table. * Phar Kim Beng is a professor of Asean Studies and Director of the Institute of Internationalization and Asean Studies at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump hails Putin summit but no specifics on Ukraine
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Free Malaysia Today
12 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump, Putin to spar over Ukraine peace, arms control at Alaska summit
US President Donald Trump said he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would do a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. (Reuters pic) MOSCOW : Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hold talks in Alaska today, with the US president's hopes of sealing a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain but with a last gasp offer from Putin of a possible nuclear deal that could help both men save face. The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska will be their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House and comes amid Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might sell Kyiv out. The White House said the meeting will take place at 11am Alaska time. Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said yesterday the three-and-a-half-year conflict had proven a tougher nut to crack than he had thought. He said if his talks with Putin went well, setting up a subsequent three-way summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy – who was not invited to Friday's meeting – would be even more important than his encounter with Putin. Trump is pressing for a truce to bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, something he has made clear is important to him. Ukraine and its European allies were heartened by their conference call on Wednesday in which, they said, Trump agreed Ukraine must be involved in any talks about ceding land. Zelenskiy said Trump had also supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement, although the US president has made no public mention of them. Wednesday's call eased their fears of a Trump-Putin deal that would leave Ukraine under pressure to make territorial and other concessions. Putin, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its straitjacket of ever-tightening Western sanctions, or at the very least not to hit Moscow with more sanctions, something Trump has threatened. The day before the summit, the Kremlin leader held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants – a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. Trump says putin will do a deal on Ukraine Trump said on the eve of the summit that he thought Putin would do a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. Putin, meanwhile, praised what he called 'sincere efforts' by the US to end the war. A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some unspecified common ground beforehand. 'Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure),' said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. Putin has set stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a phased truce in the air war, although both sides have accused the other of flouting a previous accord. Analysts say Putin could try to look like he's giving Trump what he wants while remaining free to escalate in Ukraine if he wants to. 'If they (the Russians) are able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of a ceasefire but that leaves Russia in control of those escalatory dynamics, does not create any kind of genuine deterrence on the ground or in the skies over Ukraine… that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin's perspective,' said Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Trump suggests land transfers will be needed Zelenskiy has accused Putin of bluffing and playing for time to avoid US secondary sanctions and has ruled out handing Moscow any territory. Trump has said land transfers between Russia and Ukraine could be a possible way of breaking the logjam. Putin, whose forces control nearly one fifth of Ukraine, wants Trump to start reviving the two countries' shrunken economic, political and business ties and, ideally, not to make that process contingent on progress on Ukraine. However, it is unclear whether Putin is willing to compromise on Ukraine. In power for a quarter of a century, the Kremlin chief has staked his legacy on coming out of the war with something he can sell to his people as a victory. Chief among his war aims is complete Russian control over the Donbas industrial region in eastern Ukraine, which comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Despite steady advances, around 25% of Donetsk remains beyond Russian control. Putin also wants full control of Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions: Nato membership to be taken off the table for Kyiv; and limits on the size of Ukraine's armed forces. Ukraine has said these terms are unacceptable and tantamount to asking it to capitulate.
