Iran says ready to rebuild ‘mutual trust’ with Europe

Tehran: Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday his country was ready to rebuild trust with European powers considering whether to reimpose UN sanctions on the Islamic republic under a 2015 nuclear deal.

“Iran is ready, should it observe genuine will and an independent approach from the European parties, to begin a new chapter in its relations with Europe,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

“If Europe possesses the necessary will to rectify this path, Iran sees no obstacle to rebuilding mutual trust and expanding relations,” he told a diplomatic forum in Tehran.

On Friday, senior Iranian diplomats met counterparts from Britain, France and Germany for talks on the status of US-Iran nuclear negotiations.

Tehran has held four rounds of Oman-mediated nuclear talks with Washington, the highest-level contact between the two foes since the United States abandoned a 2015 nuclear accord.

US President Donald Trump effectively torpedoed the deal in 2018 during his first term, by unilaterally pulling out and reimposing sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and banking sector.

A year later, Iran began rolling back its commitments to the agreement, which had offered sanctions relief in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities.

The three European powers — party to the 2015 accord — are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance. That option expires in October.

Araghchi earlier this month warned of “irreversible” consequences if Britain, France and Germany moved to reimpose sanctions.

He had previously proposed visiting London, Paris and Berlin for discussions on the nuclear issue as well as other areas “of mutual interest and concern”.

In his speech on Sunday, he urged the Europeans to focus more on shared interests rather than differences.

He said the Europeans should have a greater role in the US-Iran nuclear talks.

“We want Europe to play its role, even if it has minimised its own role,” the IRNA news agency quoted Araghchi as saying.

The Oman-mediated nuclear talks aim to conclude a new deal that would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran has consistently denied -- in exchange for lifting the sanctions.