Iran says to hold nuclear talks with Europeans this week

TEHRAN: Iran will hold a fresh round of nuclear talks with European powers in Turkey later this week, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The talks with Britain, France and Germany would be held in Istanbul on Friday, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

French diplomatic sources gave the same information, but there was still no word from Berlin or London on the meeting which was originally slated for earlier this month but postponed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would be held “at the level of deputy foreign ministers”.

The European nations -- known as the E3 -- were among the world powers that negotiated the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal along with China, Russia and the United States.

Donald Trump, in his first term as president, effectively torpedoed the accord in 2018 by unilaterally withdrawing the United States.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.

Iran has held several discreet meetings on the nuclear with the E3 since late last year -- most recently in February in Geneva -- ahead of indirect negotiations with Washington that began on April 12.

“While we continue the dialogue with the United States, we are also ready to talk with the Europeans,” Araghchi said.

“Unfortunately, the Europeans themselves have become somewhat isolated in these negotiations with their own policies,” he added, without elaborating.

“We do not want such a situation and that’s why we have continued our negotiations” with them, he said.

Friday’s meeting will follow the latest round of Oman-mediated Iran-US talks on Sunday, which Tehran described as “difficult but useful” while a US official said Washington was “encouraged.”

Iran and the United States have so far held four rounds of talks, the highest-level contact in years between the long-time foes, since the US abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

European governments are currently weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance -- an option that expires in October.

On Tuesday, Trump criticised Iran’s leadership, regional role, alleged mismanagement, and threatened to slash its oil exports if nuclear talks fail.