JEDDAH: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday led key talks with European foreign ministers aimed at finding a way forward in talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
The new talks came amid a three-day meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the northern English city of Liverpool, which resulted in a joint call for Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions and to grasp the opportunity for ongoing talks in Vienna.
World powers and Iran resumed those talks last week, aiming to revive the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan – the original 2015 deal to restrict Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The deal fell through in 2018 when the US pulled out and Iran began enriching uranium beyond the limits imposed by the JCPOA.
A European source said negotiators were working from texts discussed five months ago, while Iranian officials said they were sticking to a tough stance since last week.
Indirect US-Iranian talks, in which diplomats from France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China shuttle between them as Tehran denies direct contact with Washington, aim to see both sides resume full compliance with the agreement .
“Secretary Blinken had a fruitful meeting with his counterparts from Germany, France and the UK in Liverpool. They discussed the JCPOA talks and our way forward,” the State Department said on Saturday.
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi insisted on Saturday that Tehran wanted to revive the agreement in talks in the Austrian capital.
“The fact that we have presented the text of Iran’s offer to the negotiating parties shows that we are serious about negotiating, and if the other side is also serious about lifting sanctions, we can achieve a good deal.” We are definitely after a good deal,” Raisi said.
Iran’s top negotiator Ali Bagheri Qani said Tehran was sticking to the position it set out last week when talks began. “The drafts that we had proposed last week are now being discussed in the meeting with other parties.
European and US officials accused Iran of making new demands and backing out of agreements signed earlier this year.
Iran has also reacted to reports that the US and Israel’s defense chiefs should prepare for a worst-case scenario by destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails and if the leaders of their countries have requested. Discussing exercises.
“Providing conditions for military commanders to test Iranian missiles with realistic targets will pay a heavy price for the attackers,” a senior Iranian military official warned.
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