Tehran faces growing international pressure as the regime cuts cooperation with the IAEA and European nations warn of reimposed UN sanctions.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on August 22, 2025, senior correspondent Laurence Norman assessed that the probability of snapback sanctions being reimposed on Iran is now “very high.” His comments came after the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom held a tense call with Abbas Araghchi, the regime’s foreign minister. Despite Tehran’s vague verbal hints at extending the deadline, Norman noted that no concrete steps were offered by the regime.
The Associated Press reported on August 23 that the European trio’s threat to activate the snapback mechanism by the end of the month has heightened international concerns. The anxiety grew further after Tehran cut cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following recent attacks on its nuclear facilities, blocking inspectors’ access to critical information on its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium—a level just one technical step away from weapons-grade. European foreign ministers and the EU’s foreign policy chief confirmed that a new round of negotiations is scheduled for next week.
Barak Ravid of Axios emphasized the same day that the European call with Araghchi “yielded no progress.” According to his report, the discussion began in a sharp tone, with Araghchi responding only by vaguely suggesting a possible extension of the timeline, but without presenting any real solution. The Iranian regime, Ravid wrote, showed neither interest in resuming negotiations with the United States nor any indication of genuine cooperation with the IAEA.
Inside the regime, alarm over the potential consequences is growing. Esmail Kowsari, a member of the regime parliament’s Security Commission, warned on August 23 via the state-affiliated Entekhab outlet that triggering the snapback mechanism would place Iran’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) “seriously on the table.” The state-run daily Setareh Sobh acknowledged the looming disaster the same day, writing: “With the activation of the snapback mechanism, Iran will face very difficult days ahead, and the country’s exports will fall to zero.”
Meanwhile, regime military officials have admitted the scale of damage inflicted by recent attacks. The regime’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh conceded on August 22 in state television remarks that the Ministry of Defense has been “one of the enemy’s primary targets.” He acknowledged that in the early hours of the strikes, two compounds and five organizational blocks of the ministry were hit, adding that there was no attack in which the ministry’s infrastructure had not been targeted.
As the deadline for European action approaches, Tehran finds itself increasingly cornered—isolated internationally, under military pressure, and facing the risk of severe economic collapse if snapback sanctions are restored.
