Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he is willing to travel to Europe to meet with Iranian leaders about Tehran’s nuclear program, and France has indicated that European countries would be interested in dialogue if Tehran showed signs of serious engagement.
After discussions with Russia and China this week, Iran plans to build on the momentum of its nuclear negotiations with the United States, which will resume on Saturday in Oman. Tehran is keeping its options open, according to its message to the European powers that were parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Tehran and the three European countries known as the E3 — France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — have been having discussions about their ties and the nuclear issue for a while now.
The most recent meeting was held in March, technical wise, and covered the requirements of a potential agreement to end Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.
Although Iran’s momentum toward talks appeared to be waning as soon as indirect negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration began this month, European diplomats had stated that they were looking into resuming contact with the US.
Trump threatened to attack Iran unless it can’t develop nuclear weapons until a new deal is reached quickly and the landmark 2015 agreement is broken during his first term.
In recent years, Iran’s relations with the E3 have had ups and downs. They are currently down, according to Araghchi, who posted the picture on X.
“I once more suggest diplomacy.” I’m now prepared to make the first move with visits to Paris, Berlin, and London following my recent consultations in Moscow and Beijing. The court of E3 is now where the ball is.
A “diplomatic solution”
The European countries’ ties to Iran have gotten worse as a result of its ballistic missile program, foreign nationals’ detention, and Russian support for their conflict in Ukraine.
Christophe Lemoine, a spokesman for France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, responded to a question about Araghchi’s comments by saying the E3 favored dialogue but wanted to know how serious Iran was.
At a press conference, he said, “The only solution is a diplomatic solution, and Iran must resolutely engage in this path, and we will continue to talk with the Iranians.”
Germany and Britain did not respond to the inquiry right away.
Even though the US knew about the nuclear talks in Oman before Trump’s announcement, the rest of the world knew.
Two European diplomats claim that the coordination between the US and its lead technical negotiator, Michael Anton, gave an E3 briefing in Paris on April 17. This suggests that things have improved.
A third round of high-level nuclear talks are scheduled for the same day in Oman, according to Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson.
A team of about a dozen US government officials will be led by Anton, who served as the White House National Security Council’s spokesman from 2017 to 2021.
Iran has long been suspected of having nuclear weapons, but it has consistently denied that. According to diplomats who were quoted by Reuters, the threat of new sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into making concessions. In order to have in-depth discussions about strategy between Americans and Europeans is necessary.
The US is unable to reimpose sanctions at the UN Security Council through a mechanism known as snapback because the US brokered the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015.
That leaves the E3, the only other party to the 2015 agreement capable of and interested in pursuing snapback.
Source: Aljazeera
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