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Iran has agreed to meet with three major European countries – Germany, France, and the United Kingdom – to hold renewed talks on the country’s nuclear programme. IIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said: ‘We are working to set a date for the meeting with the Europeans.”
He went on to emphasise that Tehran’s approach to nuclear talks is “stronger than before”.
Local media reported that he had spoken to the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas and his counterparts in Britain, France and Germany on Friday.
According to the same media, an agreement was reached on the negotiations’ format, expected to take place at the level of deputy foreign ministers.
If confirmed, the discussions might open the door to more extensive engagement between Tehran and the West, following the recent 12-day war with Israel that saw massive attacks by both Israel and the US on key Iranian nuclear facilities.
Following the strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors.
The latest possibility for talks comes amid reports that the European powers threatened to reimpose sanctions eased in a 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear output using a so-called “snapback” mechanism if Iran did not resume talks.
Iran willing to talk to US only if assurances are made
Earlier this month, Araghchi said that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against it, state media reported.
Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear programme, but “assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.”
He reaffirmed Iran’s stance that uranium enrichment must continue on Iranian territory, something US President Donald Trump has maintained is impossible.
Israel claims its attacks on Iran last month took place because a nuclear bomb was within Tehran’s reach.
US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organised nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Despite the controversy that greeted the US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities and doubts on their impact, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on 7 July said that the US attacks had caused such severe damage to his nation’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities were still unable to visit them to assess the damage.
