European powers plan fresh nuclear talks with Iran: German diplomatic source
The European powers, known as the E3, 'are in contact with Iran to schedule further talks for the coming week', the source said, following warnings from the trio that international sanctions against Iran could be reactivated if Tehran does not resume negotiations.
Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported that Tehran had agreed to hold talks with the three European countries, citing an unnamed source.
Consultations are ongoing regarding a date and location for the talks, the report said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a call Friday with his British, French and German counterparts and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
European powers urge Iran to continue US nuclear talks
During the call, the Europeans warned that if Iran did not return to talks soon, they would activate a so-called 'snapback' mechanism to reimpose sanctions lifted in a 2015 deal to curb Tehran's nuclear output.
Iran and the United States had held several rounds of nuclear negotiations through Omani mediators before Israel launched its 12-day war against Iran on June 13.
However, US President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities effectively ended the talks.
'Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. That is why Germany, France and the United Kingdom are continuing to work intensively in the E3 format to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear programme,' the German source said.
Iran denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons.
The 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), placed significant restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
But the hard-won deal began to unravel in 2018, during Trump's first presidency, when the United States walked away from it and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
'If no solution is reached over the summer, snapback remains an option for the E3,' the German source said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
France's culture minister to be tried on corruption charges
France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati is to go on trial accused of corruption and abuse of power while she was a European Parliament member, a judicial source told AFP on Tuesday. Dati, a high-profile minister who holds ambitions to become Paris mayor next year, was placed under investigation in 2019 on suspicion she lobbied for the Renault-Nissan car group while at the European Union institution. French investigating magistrates also ordered that Carlos Ghosn, the former Renault-Nissan chairman and chief executive, be tried, a judicial source said. Ghosn, 71, who has been living in Lebanon for years after escaping arrest in Japan, has rejected the charges against him. Dati, 59, also denies the allegations, and lashed out at some of the investigating magistrates on her case, accusing them of "trampling" on her rights. "I condemn magistrates who refuse to do their job according to the code of procedure," she told news channel LCI, denouncing what she called a case "marred by incidents". "I will not give up, on anything," added Dati, who is mayor of the French capital's seventh district, home to most French ministries, the country's parliament and many foreign embassies. Dati is accused of accepting 900,000 euros ($1 million) in lawyer's fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, but not working for them, while she was an MEP from 2009 to 2019. Her lawyers told AFP they would appeal the decision to place her on trial. Dati, a daughter of working-class North African immigrants, has accused enemies of "trying to attack me over my private life". A powerful political player who was justice minister under right-wing leader Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2009, Dati will remain in the government, said an associate of President Emmanuel Macron. "The president has taken note of the decision to refer Rachida Dati to the criminal court. As a referral is not a conviction, she will continue her work," said the associate, speaking on condition of anonymity. Investigations have sought to determine whether she carried out banned lobbying for the carmaker at the European Parliament. Initially placed under the more favourable status of assisted witness — a step before being indicted — in 2019, Dati was charged in 2021.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran says will not halt nuclear enrichment ahead of European talks
TEHRAN: Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear programme including uranium enrichment despite the 'severe' damage caused by US strikes to its facilities, the country's foreign minister said ahead of renewed talks with European powers. Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The meeting will be the first since Iran's 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. For now, enrichment 'is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News' 'Special Report with Bret Baier' on Monday. 'But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists,' he continued, calling it a source of 'national pride'. US President Donald Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying Washington would carry out strikes again 'if necessary'. The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Trump's first term, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis. 'Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement,' said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul on the deal's future. Iran will also host a trilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would 'continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes in account the legitimate concerns of all parties'. In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments. Germany said the Istanbul talks would be at the expert level, with the European trio, or E3, working 'flat out' to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution. 'If no solution is reached by the end of August... the snapback also remains an option for the E3,' said its foreign ministry spokesman, Martin Giese. A clause in the 2015 agreement allows for UN sanctions on Iran to be reimposed through a 'snapback' mechanism in the event of non-compliance. However, the agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60 percent — far beyond the 3.67 percent cap set by the 2015 accord. That is a short step from the 90 percent enrichment required for a nuclear weapon. Using the snapback clause was 'meaningless, unjustifiable and immoral', Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only began distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western non-compliance. 'Iran's reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement,' he said. Western powers — led by the United States and backed by Israel — have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production. Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering a 12-day conflict. 'At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America,' Baqaei said Monday. Israel launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis on June 13, targeting key military and nuclear facilities.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Moscow not expecting ‘breakthroughs' from Ukraine talks
MOSCOW: Moscow on Tuesday once again downplayed expectations for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine and did not confirm the date for a meeting in Istanbul set for Wednesday by Ukraine. That came after the Kremlin on Monday said that the two sides were far apart in their visions on how to end the more than three-year-old conflict, and as they continued to pummel each other with drones and missiles. 'We don't have any reason to hope for some miraculous breakthroughs,' Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a regular briefing in answer to AFP's question about the Kremlin's expectations from the talks. Outlining potential topics for discussion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv was ready to 'secure the release of our people from captivity and return abducted children, to stop the killings, and to prepare a leaders' meeting.' Moscow said that 'a lot of work lies ahead' before even discussions could take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019. Ukraine said its ex-defence minister and current secretary of the security council, Rustem Umerov, will head Kyiv's delegation on the talks on Wednesday. But the Kremlin said only that it hoped talks could be held 'this week'. 'As soon as we are ready, we will make an announcement regarding the dates,' Peskov said. Moscow's delegation at the last round of talks with Ukraine was led by a hawkish historian and the current head of the Russian Union of Writers, Vladimir Medinsky, whom Ukraine described as a puppet with no authority. Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on May 16 and on June 2 as Washington stepped up pressure for a deal, but no breakthroughs were made and the talks only yielded agreements to exchange prisoners and soldiers' bodies. At the frontline, far from the diplomatic deliberations, the brutal conflict raged on, with Moscow and Kyiv saying that they had intercepted dozens of drones launched at each other. The Russian army also said that it had captured the village of Novotoretskoye in the Donetsk region — the latest advance as Moscow intensifies its ground offensive. A Ukrainian drone strike on a private bus in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region killed three people and wounded another three, a Moscow-installed official said. Another man died in Russia's western border Belgorod region after a Ukrainian attack, according to the local governor. At the same time, a Russian drone and missile salvo on Ukraine killed a 10-year-old boy in the eastern frontline city of Kramatorsk, and wounded more than a dozen people across the country, Kyiv's authorities said. In recent weeks, Russia has fired a record number of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities, and seized more frontline territory, which Kyiv says is evidence that Moscow is not serious about halting the all-out offensive it launched in February 2022.
