TEHRAN – Tehran and the European Troika (E3) of France, Germany and the UK reportedly agreed in principle to resume negotiations on Iran’s private nuclear program, but important details regarding timing and location remain unresolved.
According to Tasnim News Agency, officials are hoping it will occur at the deputy minister’s level, but praise the revival of diplomatic efforts that have been suspended since the military escalation in June.
The hosting country remains undecided, but marks a tentative step towards de-escalation after provocative manipulation and inflammatory rhetoric by E3, particularly as it marks Iran’s first in-person engagement since the planned meeting stopped in the fight against Iran during the 12-day war in the US-Israel war.
The development follows a telegraph meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut and his European counterpart on Thursday, alongside EU foreign policy director Kaja Karas.
Araghchi explicitly called for E3 to abandon the “overwhelming policies of threats and pressure,” particularly the looming activation of the “snapback” mechanism of UN sanctions.
“If EU/E3 wants to have a role, they should act responsibly and put these policies aside,” he declared, emphasizing that Europe will “has no moral or legal basis.”
Snapback sanctions will automatically revive harsh UN measures such as arms embargo, assets freezes and travel bans, but will be the focus of the focus.
Along with our coordination, the European powers had previously set an end-of-August deadline to demonstrate compliance with the nuclear obligations and warned that Tehran would begin a snapback process unless it submitted “specific results.”
However, Araguchi denounced the US head-on for the collapse of diplomacy, saying, “It was the US that withdrew from the two-year negotiation contract, and it was the US that left the negotiation table this June and instead chose a military choice.”
Mohammad Reza Rauf Shibani, Iran’s special envoy for West Asia, told Al Mayaden that Tehran “does not retreat in the face of Western pressures and threats to activate the snapback mechanism.”
Citing the recent 12-day war, Sheevani dismissed coercion as ineffective.
The push for consultation comes against the backdrop of the biggest US demands. In April, US envoy Steve Witkov reversed Washington’s previous stance by insisting that Iran “must be stopped and eliminated the nuclear enrichment program.”