Iran and European powers set nuclear talks in Istanbul amid tensions

Reuters
Reuters

Iran, Britain, France and Germany will hold deputy foreign minister-level nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday, officials said, amid warnings that failure to resume negotiations could trigger the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on Tehran.

Iran will meet with Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul this Friday for nuclear talks at the deputy foreign minister level, according to a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

The talks follow a warning from the three European countries, known as the E3, that failure to restart negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme could lead to UN sanctions being snapped back by the end of August.

The E3 nations, along with China and Russia, remain parties to the 2015 nuclear deal that eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear activities. The United States withdrew from the deal in 2018.

Recent tensions escalated after Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month. Before the attacks, Tehran and Washington had conducted five rounds of talks mediated by Oman, but major issues such as uranium enrichment remained unresolved.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only and has criticized European threats to reinstate sanctions, calling them “morally and legally baseless.”

The UN Security Council resolution, underpinning the 2015 deal, is set to expire on 18 October. The snapback mechanism allows restoration of sanctions before that date if talks fail.

It's confirmed that a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and China will take place on Tuesday (22 July) regarding Tehran's nuclear programme and the United Nations snapback mechanism, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

The UN snapback mechanism refers to efforts to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Tags