![A giant banner depicting Iran’s mythological hero Rostam fighting a dragon symbolizing the United States is put up in Azadi Square, while Iranian citizens are walking through the street in Tehran, Iran on August 18, 2025. [Fatemeh Bahrami - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AA-20250818-38859253-38859239-HUGE_ANTIUS_BANNER_GOES_UP_IN_TEHRAN.jpg)
On 23 September, as the United Nations opened its 80th General Assembly in New York, two men thousands of miles apart spoke almost directly to each other. Donald Trump, back at the UN podium, declared that Iran must “never be allowed” to possess nuclear weapons. In Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared on state television, ruling out talks with Washington and warning that negotiations “under such threats” would inflict “serious and possibly irreparable harm.” Between those two statements lies Europe’s snapback: Britain, France and Germany — the E3 — have triggered the “snapback” mechanism of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, opening a 30-day window that could restore the sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The result is a diplomatic clock […]
