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Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***IranAs the dust settles on last month’s war between Iran and Israel — supported in a cameo role with U.S. strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites — a diplomatic flashpoint is rapidly approaching. October sees the expiration of a “snapback” mechanism built into the 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the now largely defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This allows the parties to that agreement the ability to restore the provisions of six resolutions against Iran passed between 2006 and 2010, without the possibility of veto by a permanent U.N. Security Council member. These measures include an arms embargo, a prohibition of uranium enrichment, asset freezes of Iranian officials, and heightened scrutiny of Iranian banks and shipping.The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have all warned Iran in recent days that they could trigger the snapback mechanism by the end of August if it fails to cooperate over its nuclear activity. Timing is key if the month-long procedure is to be completed before Russia takes the U.N. Security Council gavel in October. Senior diplomats from the major European powers and Iran are due to meet in Istanbul on Friday for what is likely to be a scoping exercise for both sides to see if a showdown in New York can be avoided.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets with the British, French, and German foreign ministers in Geneva in June. Image: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office via Wikimedia Commons.ChinaMultilateral diplomacy has been China’s recent priority. On July 9, Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the BRICS Summit in Brazil and met with the United Nations secretary general and the director-general of the World Trade Organization to