France, Britain and Germany may reinstate tough sanctions on Iran in August

France, the United Kingdom and Germany will reinstate harsh sanctions on Iran by the end of August if no progress is made on a nuclear deal, Al Jazeera writes, referring to Western diplomats and officials.

The economic penalties on Iran that were lifted under a 2015 agreement in return for allowing restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program would return by the end of next month “at the latest” if there is no breakthrough, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters.

“France and its partners are … justified in reapplying global embargoes on arms, banks and nuclear equipment that were lifted 10 years ago,” Barrot told reporters before a meeting with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels.