Iran floats meeting with E3 before US talks in Rome: Report
Iran reportedly proposed meeting the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as E3, as Tehran and Washington have engaged in new negotiations to resolve a decades-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.
Two E3 diplomats and a Western diplomat have told Reuters that Iran had communicated after last Saturday’s talks with the US a proposal to meet possibly in Rome on Friday.
Should that not be possible, the Iranians also suggested discussions in Tehran before that date, the diplomats said.
The European and Western diplomats said the E3, France, Britain and Germany, were assessing whether it was in their interest to meet Iran now or wait to see how talks with Washington developed, but ruled out a meeting in Tehran.
An Iranian official confirmed the proposal, but said the E3 had not responded so far.
“It is important to remain on the same page with all parties to the 2015 deal. Therefore, meeting the E3 countries this week ahead of the next round of talks with Americans would be useful,” Reuters quoted the Iranian official as saying.
Since April 12, Iran and the US have held three rounds of talks in Oman and Italy to settle a standoff on Iran’s nuclear program.
Sidelining Europe in talks
In response to a question about whether the exclusion of European countries from the negotiations was Iran’s or the US’s decision, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday, “Neither, it was their own choice.”
The three European countries had key roles in the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal from which the US withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Iran. A move that left the future of the agreement in limbo specially after the three European countries failed to fulfill their commitments envisaged in the nuclear agreement which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Despite their inability to fulfil their commitments under the JCPOA, Iran has called for cooperation on different areas including the nuclear issue.
Ready for talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks, although he suggested that the ball was in Europe’s court.
“Last September in New York, I offered dialogue when I met E3 FMs and indeed any other European counterpart. Instead of confrontation, I put forward cooperation not only on the nuclear issue, but in each and every other area of mutual interest & concern. They unfortunately chose the hard way,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
“I once again propose diplomacy. After my recent consultations in Moscow & Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin & London. I was ready to do it before Iran commenced its indirect dialogue with the US, but the E3 opted out,” he added.
The Iranian foreign minister said that ball is now in the E3’s court, adding that they have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path.
Since September, Tehran and the three European powers have met several times to discuss their ties and the nuclear issue.
The most recent meeting in March was held at the technical level, looking at the parameters of a future deal to secure a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
France’s threats
Despite Iran’s goodwill, France on Monday warned that it will not think twice about reimposing United Nations sanctions on Iran if negotiations with the US do not succeed.
“It goes without saying that when the Iranian nuclear deal expires in a few weeks, if European security interests are not guaranteed, we will not hesitate for a single second to reapply all the sanctions that were lifted 10 years ago,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
The 2015 nuclear deal with Iran expires in October and the E3 has the power to initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the Security Council.
According to diplomats, the E3 countries are now looking to trigger the snapback mechanism by August, rather than June, if no substantial deal can be found by then. The opportunity expires on October 18.