Britain, France and Germany have taken the first step towards lifting UN sanctions on Tuesday, officially accusing Iran of violating the 2015 agreement limiting its nuclear program. European countries began with a potentially 60-day negotiation with Iran on returning to full nuclear trade compliance. If they did not resolve their dispute, they could reinstate UN sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under the agreement, including an arms embargo. 

The expected move was postponed because the United States killed Iran's commander-in-chief, Major. Qassim Suleimani is still in the spotlight in Iran and throughout the region. President Trump withdrew  from the deal negotiated under President Barack Obama in 2018 and  imposed several US sanctions on Iran. Correspondingly, Tehran has repeatedly exceeded the limits set by its uranium enrichment agreement, raising concerns that it may be on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. However, Iran allows international inspectors to stay in the country and is unlikely to go through with a secret bomb. European officials said Europe wants to bail out the deal and convince both Washington and Tehran to begin a new series of negotiations on Iran's missile development and  regional activities. 

However, the three European countries, all signatories to the Agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), clearly felt that deviations from Iran's compliance had to be addressed. In a joint statement, British, French and German foreign ministers warned Iran on December 6 to halt their actions and reveal their true intentions.