Keystone-SDA
Iran continued its nuclear dialogue with the Europeans in Geneva. After the French, German and British representatives on Monday, discussions were held on Tuesday with that of the EU. And they also focused on Russia and the Middle East.
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January 14, 2025 – 5:24 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) Monday evening, in brief statements, Tehran and the three European states at the level of political directors of the foreign ministries spoke of “serious, frank and constructive” discussions. On Tuesday, it was no different with the EU representative.
The format was “open and constructive”, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, clarified on social media. At the end of this meeting in which Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanhchi also participated, he added on social networks that the dialogue had focused “mainly” on nuclear power.
But “questions of common interest” were also discussed. And also the “unacceptable European support for the crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza”, according to Mr. Gharibabadi.
For his part, Deputy Secretary General of European Diplomacy Enrique Mora affirmed that the two parties had “explored avenues for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear problem”. “I also addressed Iran’s unacceptable military support for Russia,” he insisted, in terms similar to those of his Iranian counterpart against European actors in the Middle East.
After previous talks in November, these new consultations were organized a few days before Donald Trump’s return to power. The former and future American president withdrew his country from the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the West.
Iran wants to try to obtain a lifting of sanctions. For their part, the three European states are concerned about the progress of this country’s nuclear program. They expressed their “concern” at the beginning of December in a letter to the UN Security Council, calling on the Iranian side not to aggravate the situation.
And they say they are ready to reimpose sanctions “to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons”. Tehran has started feeding new centrifuges at Fordo, one of the country’s largest, in central Iran. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the country has become the only country without atomic weapons to enrich uranium up to 60%. He says he wants to exploit these resources for civilian purposes, which Westerners doubt.
