TEHRAN – Iran will hold talks with Britain, France, and Germany on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, with the nations believed to be seeking to revive their stalled 2015 nuclear deal.
The vice-ministerial talks are set to take place in Geneva and the European Union will also participate, sources said.
The talks would coincide with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Trump withdrew from the accord during his first administration in 2018. Iran countered the U.S. move by increasing its nuclear activities beyond the limits set in the deal.
The planned talks between Iran, the three European nations and the EU, which is acting as a mediator, will be the country’s first nuclear talks since reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in late July to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
At the talks, topics are expected to include Iran’s nuclear program, European nations’ sanctions on Iranian airlines and shipping companies, and escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to the sources. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi, a veteran nuclear negotiator, will lead the country’s delegation in Geneva.
With the 2015 nuclear deal struck with six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
China and Russia, which are strengthening their ties with Iran, and the United States, currently undergoing an administration transition from President Joe Biden to Trump, will not participate in the talks, the sources said.
BY: The Times Union
