Araghchi: Iran ready for talks with Europe based on mutual respect, common interests
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is ready to talk with European countries based on mutual respect and common interests as the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear program has once again come under the spotlight following US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his administration’s signals to resume negotiations with Tehran.
The Iranian foreign minister made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp on Saturday.
Araghchi underlined that Iran’s government pursues good diplomatic relations with other countries.
The Dutch top diplomat, for his part, referred to the long history of relations between Tehran and Amsterdam and the importance of Iran’s role in regional developments and emphasized the necessity of utilizing all diplomatic capacities to resolve differences between the two countries.
Veldkamp also pointed to the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf which are claimed by the UAE, saying that this is an issue between Iran and the UAE and the Netherlands supports the settlement of the issue based on international law.
Last year, a statement issued at the end of a joint meeting of the heads of state of the European Union and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) accused Iran of “occupation” of the triple Iranian islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, and claimed that the islands belonged to the United Arab Emirates.
Iran strongly condemned the statement with the Iranian foreign minister saying that the three islands have always belonged to Iran, and will forever remain as such.
The three Persian Gulf islands have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in the country and other parts of the world. However, the UAE has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.
Relations between Iran and the EU have damaged over many issues including Iran’s nuclear program. The government of President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to resolve the differences between the two sides through dialogue. Iran and three European powers – France, Germany and Britain – have held several rounds of talks on the issue over the past year.
The three European countries are party to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Their failure to fulfill their obligations under the agreement after the US unilateral withdrawal from the deal left the future of the agreement in limbo.