GENEVA: Iran is set to meet on Friday with Germany, France, and the United Kingdom for talks on its nuclear program, less than two months before Donald Trump returns as US President.
Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the political deputy to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, will represent Iran in Friday’s talks, which follow on from a meeting in New York in September.
Laying the groundwork on Thursday, Takht-Ravanchi and deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi met with Enrique Mora, deputy secretary general of the European Union’s foreign affairs arm, western and Iranian media reported.
Mora said on X that they held a “frank exchange… on Iran’s military support to Russia that has to stop, the nuclear issue that needs a diplomatic solution, regional tensions and human rights”.
Today’s meeting takes place in the context of extreme tension in the Middle East between Iran and its allies, and Israel.
Iran, European powers talks
Friday’s talks in Geneva have been overshadowed by the European nations teaming up with the US to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog, AFP and VOA reported.
Last week, the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues.
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Reacting over the development, Tehran described the move as politically motivated.
However, Iranian officials have since signalled willingness to engage with others ahead of Trump’s return.
Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but according to the IAEA, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60 percent.
In an interview with The Guardian, Iran’s Foreign Minister 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.
“We have no intention to go further than 60 percent for the time being, and this is our determination right now,” he told the British newspaper.
But, he said, “there is this discussion going on in Iran, and mostly among the elites… whether we should change our nuclear doctrine” as so far it has proven to be “insufficient in practice”.
A 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers aimed to give Iran relief from Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear programme to prevent it from developing a weapons capability.
Iran has consistently denied any such ambition. The Geneva talks come as the war of words between Iran and Israel have ratcheted up.
