GENEVA: Iran and the E3 grouping of the UK, France and Germany agreed to continue diplomatic talks following a meeting on Friday touching on Tehran’s nuclear programme, amid surging tensions even before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Following the talks in Geneva, shrouded in an unusual level of secrecy, the parties each took to social media to say the discussions had focused on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions, and other regional issues.
The sides had “agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue in the near future”, the German foreign ministry and the high-level diplomats representing France, Britain and Iran said separately on X.
Providing a bit more detail, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, described Friday’s discussions as “candid”.
“Our preference is the path of dialogue and engagement,” he wrote.
“Another round of candid discussions with PDs of Fr, Ger and UK,” Gharibabadi wrote on his X account on Friday.
“We discussed and took stock of recent bilateral, regional and international developments, particularly nuclear and sanctions-lifting issues,” he added.
“We are firmly committed to pursuing the interests of our people, and our preference is the path of dialogue and engagement,” he noted.
“It was agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue in near future,” he stated.
Friday’s meeting took place in the context of extreme tension in the Middle East between Israel, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.
This week a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon after a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would do “everything” to stop Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
On January 20, Trump, who pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran during his first term as president of the United States, returns to the White House.
Iran hopes to mend relations with Europe, while also maintaining a firm stance.
Earlier November 26, Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said that an upcoming meeting between deputy foreign ministers of Iran and three European states (France, Germany, and Britain) will be held considering the principles of dignity, wisdom, and expediency emphasized by the Supreme Leader.
She expressed hope that peace could be established in the region soon and that the genocide would come to an end.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper published Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that frustration in Tehran over unmet commitments, such as lifting sanctions, was fuelling debate over whether the country should alter its nuclear policy.
Friday’s talks were foreshadowed by the European countries teaming up with the United States to have Iran censured by the UN atomic watchdog for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues.
Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has consistently denied any ambition of developing weapons capability.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final authority in Iran’s decision-making, has issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting atomic weapons.
But according to the IAEA, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60 percent purity.
The IAEA said in a report that Iran planned to install 6,000 new centrifuges at its sites in Fordo and Natanz, aimed at up to five percent enrichment.
UK, French & German Political Directors met our Iranian counterpart @Gharibabadi in Geneva today to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme & sanctions, bilateral issues &the regional situation. We agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue in the near future cc @GermanyDiplo @CTurnerFCDO https://t.co/q0DP9gdse6
— Frédéric Mondoloni (@F_Mondoloni) November 29, 2024
That 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers aimed to give Iran relief from crippling Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear programme to prevent it from developing weapons capability.
Tehran adhered to the deal, but in 2018, during Trump’s first presidency, Washington unilaterally pulled out of the agreement and slapped heavy sanctions back on Iran.
For Tehran, the goal of Friday’s talks was to avoid a “double disaster” scenario of renewed pressures from both Trump and European governments, according to political analyst Mostafa Shirmohammadi.
