The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the three European countries of Britain, France and Germany will be held in Geneva on Jan. 13, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported quoting the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi on Wednesday.
Iran held talks about its disputed nuclear programme in November 2024 with the three European powers.
Those discussions, the first since the U.S. election, came after Tehran was angered by a European-backed resolution that accused Iran of poor cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
‘Peaceful’ Programme?
Tehran reacted to the resolution by informing the IAEA watchdog that it plans to install more uranium-enriching centrifuges at its enrichment plants.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons-grade. Tehran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and says its programme is peaceful.
In 2018, the then administration of Donald Trump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
‘Make A Deal’
Indirect talks between U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said during his election campaign in September: “We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal”.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Western diplomatic source told Reuters last month that the acceleration of enrichment was “in contradiction with Iran’s declarations on its willingness to return to credible negotiations”.
As reported by Iran International, the announced date being a week before Donald Trump’s inauguration may be viewed by both sides as the final opportunity for a breakthrough before US policy hardens.
Trump may resume his first-term strategy of Maximum Pressure upon returning to the White House on January 20.
(With inputs from Reuters)
