France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the E3) notified the United Nations Security Council that they were triggering the process known as the "snapback mechanism" to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran. The notification initiates a 30-day process which would result in the reentry into force of U.N. sanctions imposed before 2015 on Iran's financial, banking, energy, and defense sectors. The E3 had been in talks with Iran since mid-June on a negotiated settlement to the Iranian nuclear issue. The letter sent by E3 foreign ministers to the Security Council indicated that the E3 might be willing to defer the renewed sanctions if Iran provides nuclear-related commitments prior to the end of September.