TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Minister, Qasem Galibabadi, says Iran and E3 (UK, France, Germany) held a “serious, straightforward and detailed” speech in Istanbul on Friday, exchanging specific proposals on sanctions relief, nuclear files and contrasting snapback mechanisms.
Posting to X after the meeting, Galibabadi said the Iranian delegation strongly criticised Europe’s stance on the recent war of attacks against the Iranian people, reaffirming Tehran’s principled stance on its nuclear rights.
He said both sides came to the table with specific suggestions and agreed to continue consultations in the coming weeks.
European countries, along with China and Russia, were the rest of the political parties in the 2015 deal, from which the US retreated in 2018.
The October 18th deadline is soon approaching when the resolution governing the transaction expires.
At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the “snapback” mechanism is triggered at least 30 days ago. This will automatically reimpose these sanctions. These target the sector from hydrocarbons to banks and defense.
To give this time for the event to happen, E3 set a deadline for the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats want Iran to take concrete steps to take and convince the deadline to extend by up to six months, Reuters reported.
Iran must commit to issues such as final consultations with Washington, full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and 400 kg (880 pounds) of enriched uranium.
Prior to the talks, Iranian officials highlighted the Islamic Republic’s unwavering commitment to its peaceful nuclear program and condemned the European party’s actions on the 2015 nuclear deal.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci spoke on Thursday during a meeting with the family of the late Major General Mohammad Bageyeri, who died in Israeli airstrikes, banned Iran from not waiving its right to enrichment of uranium.
“Our enrichment continues,” he said. “This is a right that cannot be negotiated,” Araguchi calls for Israel’s strike on June 13, followed by attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, a blatant violation of the UN Charter, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that nuclear cooperation with the West is based on mutual respect and recognition of Iran’s rights.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also said in a statement released on Friday that the Istanbul conference was an important test for Europeans. He warned that E3 no longer had a legal or moral basis for invoking the JCPOA mechanism due to repeated violations.
“Europe cannot act as both an offender and an enforcer,” Baghhai told the IRNA. He accused E3 of allowing Israeli sabotage and questioned whether they would continue to sacrifice their credibility for Tel Aviv.
Baguei also confirmed that Iran partially halted cooperation with the IAEA following the attack, saying future involvement would depend on the decision of the highest national security council. He added that an IAEA delegation is expected in Tehran soon, but no nuclear site testing is scheduled at the moment. Instead, the lecture focuses on redefine the framework of interaction.
The Istanbul Conference continued to see weeks of tensions escalated after previous rounds in Geneva and New York, indicating the continued expert-level negotiations between Iran and E3/EU. While consultations remain difficult, Iranian officials have repeatedly been willing to engage as long as their sovereignty and nuclear rights are respected.
On June 13, Israel launched a military attack that was not surprised and provoked by Iran, assassinating several senior military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. More than a week later, the US escalated the conflict by targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities. This has been accused Tehran of a serious violation of the UN Charter, international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In response, Iranian forces launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones against Israel’s strategic position, targeting U.S. Aldeid Air Force Base in Qatar, the largest US base in West Asia.
On June 24, after nearly two weeks of sustained retaliation operations, Iran managed to halt the coordinated military attacks of Israeli-Americans.
Before the June 13 attack, Iran and the United States had held five rounds of indirect negotiations on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program. These talks, mediated by Oman, were scheduled to continue in Muscat on June 15th, but are planned