Iran said it is coordinating with Russia and China to avert the reinstatement of European sanctions threatened by France, Germany and the United Kingdom if no diplomatic solution on Tehran’s nuclear programme is reached by the end of August. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television that the three nations were working to “prevent” the snapback mechanism and that Tehran has counter-measures ready should the EU proceed. Beijing underscored that position on Friday, declaring it “opposes” any move by European powers to restore international penalties on Iran. The European trio, all signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, warned the United Nations this week that they are prepared to re-impose the embargo on arms, nuclear equipment and banking if Iran does not return to compliance. Separately, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported that Moscow and Tehran are negotiating the construction of small nuclear power plants in Iran. Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said an agreement could be concluded soon and thanked Iranian authorities for assisting in evacuating personnel from the Russian-built Bushehr plant during recent regional tensions.