European and Iranian officials made little progress in meetings on Friday on whether they could engage in serious talks, including over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, diplomats said.
The meetings in Geneva, the first since this month's U.S. election, come after Tehran was angered by a European-backed resolution last week that criticised Iran for poor cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
"Another round of candid discussions with PDS (political directors) of France, Germany and United Kingdom," Iran's former ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on X. "It was agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue in near future."
A European official said there had been nothing of note in the meeting but that Tehran had shown an eagerness to explore how diplomacy could work in next few weeks.
Trump, who after pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers pursued a "maximum pressure" policy that sought to wreck Iran's economy, is staffing his new administration with noted hawks on Iran.
Iran's deputy foreign minister and senior nuclear negotiator Majid Takhtravanchi met the EU's coordinator Enrique Mora on Thursday evening before holding various talks on Friday with the European diplomats, known as the E3.
While Trump's return to power leaves many questions open, four European diplomats said the E3 countries - the European parties to the 2015 accord - felt it was vital to engage now because time was running out.
The level of distrust between both sides was highlighted when the E3 on Nov. 21 pushed ahead with a resolution by the IAEA board of governors which criticised Iran.
They dismissed as insufficient and insincere a last-minute Iranian move to cap its stock of uranium that is close to weapons grade.
Tehran reacted to the resolution by informing the IAEA that it plans to install more uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants.
In rare public comments, the head of France's foreign intelligence service Nicolas Lerner said on Friday there was a real the risk of Iranian nuclear proliferation in the coming months.
"Our services are working side by side to face what is undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, critical threat of the coming months ... possible atomic proliferation in Iran," Lerner said, speaking in Paris alongside his British counterpart, adding the two agencies were defining their strategy.
A European official had earlier said the primary aim in Geneva was to try to agree a calendar timeline and framework to embark on good faith talks so that there was a clear commitment from Iranians to begin negotiating something concrete before Trump arrives.
It was unclear immediately if there had been any such progress.
"If we finalise a roadmap with France, Britain and Germany on how to resolve the nuclear dispute, then the ball will be in the U.S. court to revive or kill the 2015 nuclear deal," the senior Iranian official said.
The E3 have adopted a tougher stance on Iran in recent months, notably since Tehran ramped up its military support to Russia. However, they have always insisted that they wanted to maintain a policy of pressure and dialogue.
Iranian officials say their primary objective will be finding ways to secure lifting of sanctions.
WAR FEARS
The 2015 deal lifted international sanctions against Iran in return for Tehran accepting some curbs to its nuclear programme. Since Trump left the deal, Iran has accelerated its nuclear programme while limiting the IAEA's ability to monitor it.
"There isn't going to be an agreement until Trump takes office or any serious talks about the contours of a deal," said Kelsey Davenport, director of non-proliferation policy at the Arms Control Association advocacy group.
The talks, which also discussed the Middle East situation and Iran's military cooperation with Russia, took place amid fears that an all-out war could break out between Iran and arch-rival Israel despite a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Iran's Hezbollah allies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he wanted to turn Israel's focus to Iran.
The European powers hope Iran will decide to begin negotiating new restrictions on its nuclear activities with a view to having a deal by the summer.
That would give enough time to implement new limits on Iran's programme and lift sanctions before the accord ends in October 2025. It is not clear whether Trump would back negotiations.
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