Three European powers are expected to reimpose punishing United Nations sanctions on Iran for ostensibly not engaging with the international community to reach a deal on its nuclear programme.
Known as the E3, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have given Iran until August 31 to make some tough decisions.
As the deadline looms, observers and analysts fear that reimposing UN sanctions will significantly escalate regional tensions and embolden Israel and the United States to attack Iran again.
Standoff
While the stakes are high, the demands by the E3 – three of the six remaining signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal – aren’t so easy to meet, experts told Al Jazeera.
They want Iran to resume negotiations with the US over its nuclea