TEHRAN: Iran will hold nuclear talks with France, Britain, and Germany on January 13 in Switzerland, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting a Foreign Ministry official.
“The new round of talks between Iran and three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13,” said Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, according to ISNA news agency.
He added the talks were only “consultations, not negotiations.”
The new round of talks between Iran and three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13.” – Deputy FM for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi
The three European countries had on December 17 accused Iran of growing its stockpile of high-enriched uranium to “unprecedented levels” without “any credible civilian justification.”
They have also raised the possibility of restoring sanctions against Iran to keep it from developing its nuclear programme.
On November 29, Iran held a discreet meeting with the three European powers in Geneva which Gharibabadi at the time described as “candid.”
Right to nuclear energy
Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has consistently denied any ambition of developing nuclear weapons capability.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, has long issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting atomic weapons.
Late Monday, Iran’s security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian maintained that Iran has “not changed” its nuclear doctrine against pursuing atomic weapons.
The January 13 talks will take place one week before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Earlier accords
In 2015, Iran and world powers — including France, Britain and Germany — reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.
But the United States, during Trump’s first term in office, unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and reimposed biting economic sanctions.
