US to hold talks with Iran on Saturday

11/4/2025 6:19

Washington's decision not to

coordinate with European nations about its negotiations with

Iran on Saturday will reduce its leverage and make U.S. and

Israeli military action against Tehran ultimately more likely,

analysts and diplomats said.



The United States did not tell European countries about the

nuclear talks in Oman before President Donald Trump announced

them on Tuesday, even though they hold a key card on the

possible reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Tehran, three

European diplomats said.



"The United States is going to need a coordinated diplomatic

strategy with its European allies going into these negotiations

with Iran," said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at

the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.



That coordination is "crucial to making sure that there is

maximum pressure and any diplomatic option has a chance of

success," Misztal said.



Trump, who restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran

in February, on Wednesday repeated threats to use military force

against Iran if it didn't halt its nuclear program and said

Israel would be "the leader of that."



The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it

denies. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure

Tehran into concessions, but detailed discussions on strategy

have yet to take place with the Americans, the diplomats said.



Because the United States quit a 2015 nuclear accord with

Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions,

called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council.



That makes Britain, Germany and France, known as the E3, the

only deal participants capable of and interested in pursuing

snapback, so it is crucial that Washington align with these

allies, analysts said. Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, has already

lobbied the E3 to initiate it.



According to the three diplomats, the E3 told Iran they

would trigger the snapback mechanism by the end of June. Iran

responded that doing so would mean harsh consequences and a

review of its nuclear doctrine, the diplomats said.



"The E3 do not trust the United States because it is taking

initiatives without them being consulted," said a senior

European diplomat.



Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the nuclear deal with

Iran also signed by Russia and China. The accord curbed Iran's

nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Russia

opposes restoring sanctions.



Under the nuclear accord, participants can initiate the

30-day snapback process if they are unable to resolve

accusations of Iranian violations through a dispute-resolution

mechanism.



But that opportunity expires on October 18 when the accord

ends.



Since the U.S. exited the deal in 2018, Iran has far

surpassed its uranium enrichment limits, according to the

International Atomic Energy Agency. Tehran is producing stocks

of fissile purity well above what Western powers say is

justifiable for a civilian energy programme and close to weapons

grade.



GOING IT ALONE



The U.S. administration's approach echoes Trump's first term

in office, when he also prioritised unilateral talks with Iran,

and with his stance on the war in Ukraine, where Washington has

begun direct talks with Moscow, sidelining Europeans.



European officials have held some meetings with U.S.

counterparts but said they were not sufficiently in-depth.



Even a meeting on Iran with U.S. Secretary of State Marco

Rubio on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting a

week before Trump's announcement was difficult to arrange, three

E3 officials said.



The British, French and German foreign ministries did not

respond directly when asked if they had been made aware of the

Oman talks ahead of time.



"We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to

prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through

snapback if necessary," a British foreign ministry spokesperson

said.



France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said tersely on

Wednesday that the French "take note with interest" the talks.



Neither the White House National Security Council nor the

State Department immediately responded to a request for comment

on the snapback or coordination with Europeans.







EUROPEAN-IRAN DIRECT TALKS



Having negotiated with Iran as a trio as far back as 2003 on

the nuclear issue, the European countries consider their role

essential to a solution. In the 2015 deal, a key carrot for Iran

was being able to trade with Europe.



The Europeans have helped the United States pressure Iran in

recent months, including at the U.N. atomic watchdog and with

new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile programme,

detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in the war

against Ukraine.



During the U.S. policy vacuum after Trump won the election

but before he took office, the Europeans tried to take the

initiative by holding exploratory talks with Iran that began in

September and have continued.



The E3 said that was necessary because time was running out

before the 2015 deal expires on October 18. They have tried to

sound out whether new restrictions, albeit narrower than those

agreed in 2015, could be negotiated before then.



Diplomats said that in those talks, Iranian officials have

often quizzed their counterparts on the new U.S. administration.



"Iran believes that talks with the E3 and other parties to

the nuclear deal can help defuse tensions over its nuclear

programme and can be complementary to talks with the U.S.," said

an Iranian official.