The three countries are signatories to the historic 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, under which sanctions against the Islamic Republic were suspended in exchange for guarantees regarding the peaceful nature of its program. With the unilateral US withdrawal in 2018, the agreement has been virtually suspended.
Following this summer's war with Israel and the US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, European countries have attempted to calm tensions, but have also warned Iran that they could reactivate their sanctions if the Islamic Republic does not resume cooperation. Tehran laments that London, Paris, and Berlin have abandoned the country to its fate and toughened their negotiating conditions.
Araghchi and Lavrov reiterated that the refusal of European states to comply with their obligations and their alignment with the United States in the US aggression against Iran "have deprived them of any excuse to resort" to the sanctions restoration mechanism known as "snapback," according to excerpts from the meeting published by the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.
The Iranian minister told Lavrov about the results of the five-party call held on Friday with EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas and his German, French, and British counterparts—Johann Wadephul, Jean-Noël Barrot, and David Lammy—to whom Araqchi conveyed that his country "has never abandoned the path of diplomacy and is ready for any diplomatic solution that guarantees the rights and interests of the Iranian people."
Nevertheless, the parties have pledged to make a new effort next week, almost certainly next Tuesday, to try to salvage what remains of the agreement with a meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers at a venue to be determined.
