Iran, UK, France, Germany to hold nuclear talks on Friday

Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday. The aim, Reuters has reported, is to improve strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

The meeting will precede a fourth round of nuclear talks this weekend between Iran and the United States, also to be held in Italy.

“In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role [in the nuclear file] due to the wrong policies they have adopted,” Araghchi told state media. “Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome.”

Reuters reported on Monday that Tehran had proposed meeting the European countries, collectively known as the E3, which are parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 during his first term. E3 political directors confirmed Friday’s meeting with Iran.

READ: Iran proposes meeting with Europeans before next talks with US, say diplomats 

Trump has threatened to attack Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal. Iran has far exceeded the 2015 agreement’s curbs on its nuclear programme since the United States withdrew, and the European countries share Washington’s concern that Tehran could seek an atomic bomb. Iran insists that its programme is for peaceful purposes only.

A UN Security Council resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires in October, and France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris would not think twice about re-imposing international sanctions if negotiations fail to reach a deal. “These sanctions would permanently close off Iranian access to technology, investment and the European market, with devastating effects on the country’s economy,” said Jean-Noel Barrot.

Iran’s UN representative responded by saying, “If France and its partners are truly seeking a diplomatic solution, they must stop threatening [Iran].”

On Tuesday, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on what it described as a network based in Iran and China accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Araghchi said that US sanctions during negotiations sent the “wrong message”.

Trump has said that he is confident of clinching a new pact that would block Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb.

READ: Iran to Netanyahu: Any hostile action will be met with a devastating response