Iran to hold first post-ceasefire nuclear talks with Europe in Turkey

TEHRAN, July 22: Iran has announced plans to hold renewed talks with European nations over its nuclear program, with the first meeting to be held in Istanbul on Friday. The talks will be hosted by Turkey and will bring Iranian officials together with officials from Britain, France, and Germany (the E3 nations), including the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. The focus of the talks is lifting sanctions and issues related to Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme.
Under a 2015 deal designed to cap Iran’s nuclear activities, Iran agreed to tough restrictions on its international programme in exchange for an easing of sanctions. However, the deal began to unravel in 2018 when the United States pulled out of it and began to reimpose certain sanctions. European countries have threatened to trigger the 2015 deal’s “snapback” mechanism, which would allow sanctions to be reimposed in the case of noncompliance by Tehran.
German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese stated that the talks are taking place at an expert level and that Germany, France, and Britain are continuing to work at high pressure on a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear programme. If no solution is reached by the end of August, snapback remains an option for the E3.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Britain, France, and Germany of failing to uphold their commitments in the deal and criticized them for providing political and material support to the recent unprovoked and illegal military aggression of the Israeli regime and the US. The US bombed three major Iranian nuclear sites in Iran in June as Israel waged an air war with Iran, resulting in nearly 1,100 deaths in Iran and 28 in Israel.
Iran denies allegations of seeking a nuclear weapon and has long said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The UK, Britain, and Germany have said they would pursue all diplomatic options to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but would consider triggering snapback to address threats to international peace and security arising from Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s UN ambassador responded on June 11 categorically rejecting the E3’s allegations and its threat to trigger snapback, stating that the Islamic State group had seriously engaged with the Europeans and the United States and remains committed to finding a negotiated solution that addresses concerns related to nuclear matters and sanctions. (AP)