Iran, UK, France, Germany to hold nuclear talks in Rome

Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, with the aim of improving strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

The meeting will precede a fourth round of nuclear talks this weekend between Iran and the United States, also to be held in Italy.

"In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role (in the nuclear file) due to the wrong policies they have adopted. Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome," Araqchi told state media.

Reuters reported on Monday that Tehran had proposed meeting the European countries, collectively known as the E3, which are parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

E3 political directors confirmed they would meet with Iran on Friday.

Trump has threatened to attack Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal. Iran has far exceeded the 2015 agreement's curbs on its nuclear programme since the United States withdrew, and the European countries share Washington's concern that Tehran could seek an atomic bomb. Iran says its programme is peaceful.

A UN Security Council resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires in October, and France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris would not think twice about re-imposing international sanctions if negotiations fail to reach a deal.

"These sanctions would permanently close off Iranian access to technology, investment, and the European market, with devastating effects on the country's economy," Jean-Noel Barrot said.

Iran's UN representative responded: "If France and its partners are truly seeking a diplomatic solution, they must stop threatening."

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on what it described as a network based in Iran and China accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Araqchi said US sanctions during negotiations sent the "wrong message".

Trump has said he is confident of clinching a new pact that would block Iran's path to a nuclear bomb.