TEHRAN: Iran’s deputy foreign minister reaffirms the country’s core principles and notes that ongoing discussions will continue.
Iran announced it will persist with nuclear negotiations with European nation following a “serious, open and detailed” dialogue on Friday. This marked the first face ti face meeting since Israel and the US conducted airstrikes on Iran last month
Prior to the meeting in Istanbul, Iran pushed back against proposals to extend the UN resolution that endorses the 2015 nuclear deal, which is approaching its expiration date. The agreement was initially intended to impose restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Delegates from the European Union and the E3 group—comprising France, the UK, and Germany—met with Iranian representatives for approximately four hours at Iran’s consulate. The UN nuclear watchdog indicated that these talks could pave the way for resuming inspections inside Iran.
Following the discussions, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that both sides exchanged specific proposals concerning sanctions relief and nuclear commitments.
He added, “While strongly criticizing their positions on the recent military actions against our nation, we outlined our principled stance, including our views on the so-called snapback mechanism.” He further noted, “It was agreed that discussions on this topic will continue.”
The remaining signatories to the 2015 deal—European countries along with China and Russia—are under pressure as the agreement’s governing resolution is set to expire on October 18. Unless the “snapback” mechanism is activated at least 30 days prior, UN sanctions on Iran will automatically be reinstated. These sanctions target various sectors, including energy, finance, and defense.
To avoid this, the E3 has set an August-end deadline to revive diplomatic efforts. Diplomats hope that Iran will undertake concrete measures to persuade them to extend the deadline by up to six months, including negotiations with Washington, full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that is close to weapons-grade, whose location remains unknown since last month’s strikes.
Before the talks, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed discussions of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 as “without basis and meaningless.”
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of resuming nuclear inspections within the year, emphasizing the importance of technical discussions. “We need to agree on the path forward and understand Iran’s concerns regarding necessary safeguards,” Grossi said in Singapore.
Prior to the recent airstrikes, the US engaged in five rounds of negotiations with Iran. President Donald Trump claimed that these efforts “destroyed” significant parts of Iran’s nuclear program—an assertion supported by Israel and the US, who allege the program aims to develop nuclear weapons.
However, NBC News reports that current and former US officials acknowledge that while the strikes damaged most of one of the three targeted nuclear sites, the other two sites were less affected.Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are solely for civilian energy purposes and denies any pursuit of nuclear weapons.
