Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks With 3 European Countries
The leaders of Iran, Germany, France and Great Britain finalize plans to discuss the nuclear program of Teheran, a major source of global tension, “in the coming week,” said a German diplomatic source Nowsweek Sunday.
Nowsweek contacted press representatives for France, Great Britain and Iran by e-mail to comment on Sunday.
Why it matters
The Iranian nuclear program has long been a source of international concern. In 2015, Iran and several world powers, including France, the United Kingdom and Germany, signed the Common Complete Action Plan (JCPOA), an agreement to limit Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the relief of sanctions. The JCPOA is expected to expire in October.
The United States has withdrawn from the 2018 agreement under the Trump administration, re-imposing sanctions and rekindling diplomatic friction.
Iran has constantly argued that its nuclear program is intended for civil ends, while the United States and some of its allies like Israel have accused Tehran of looking for nuclear weapons capacities. Tensions increased again last month when the United States made air strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, causing Iranian reprisals with a strike at an American military base in Qatar.
What to know
The three European countries, known as E3, “are in contact with Iran to organize other talks in the coming week,” a German diplomatic source said to Nowsweek In an email on Sunday.
The Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported an informed source on the issue, claiming: “The principle of talks has been agreed, but consultations are continuing at the time and place of talks. The country in which talks could take place next week have not been finalized.”
The organization of talks with the leaders of the E3 and Iran comes only a few days after the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi had discussions with officials of the French, German and European Union (EU). It was the first official call since the Israel-Iran war.
A German diplomatic source said Nowsweek This “Iran should never have nuclear weapons”.
They added: “Regarding the Iranian nuclear program, a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution which responds to the security interests of the international community is essential.”
The source continued: “If such a solution is not obtained by the end of the summer, the Snapback mechanism will remain an option for the E3. We continue to coordinate closely with our E3 and American partners on this issue.”
The E3 warned that they would trigger a “snapback” of sanctions against Iran by the end of the summer if Tehran does not progress in a nuclear agreement. The Snapback mechanism integrated into the 2015 agreement makes it possible to re -implicate the sanctions if Tehran is found non -compliant.
Washington and Tehran held five cycles of nuclear talks mediated by Oman this year. The talks arrested after Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion”, a military campaign against Iran which, according to her, was to pre -empt a planned Iranian attack and disturb the nuclear capacities of Iran.
The war has intensified when the United States joined and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, in the largest B-2 operation in the history of the United States.
AP photo / Eraldo Peres
What people say
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week: “If the EU / E3 want to have a role, they should act in a responsible manner and put aside worn threat and pressure policies, including the” snap-back “for which they absolutely miss [any] moral and legal land. “”
French President Emmanuel Macron said last month: “We do not want Iran to get a nuclear weapon. But the greatest error would be to use military strikes to change the regime, because it would then be chaos and our responsibility is to return discussions as quickly as possible to be able to become a course on the nuclear and ballistic issue.”
What happens next?
The details concerning the place and the schedule of talks are still being finalized. Tasnim said the talks would be led by the Foreign Ministers of the four countries.
