According to Axios, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain, agreed in a phone call on Monday to set the end of August as an informal deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.
If no agreement is reached by this date, the three European countries, France, Germany, and Britain, intend to activate the snapback mechanism or automatic return of sanctions.
This mechanism automatically restores all UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA).
This decision was made while the snapback activation process takes 30 days and European countries want to complete this process before October, when Russia assumes the presidency of the Security Council.
American and European officials use this mechanism as a tool to pressure Tehran and as an option if diplomacy fails.
