Khaberni -Germany, France, and the United Kingdom intend to hold new talks with Iran in the coming days, the first since the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June amid the war between Israel and Tehran, according to a German diplomatic source to AFP on Sunday.
The source said that the three European countries "are in contact with Iran to set a date for further talks next week."
The European powers warned of the possibility of reactivating international sanctions on Tehran unless progress is made in the talks on its nuclear program, under a mechanism stipulated by the 2015 agreement, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew.
The Tasnim Iranian agency quoted an unnamed source, saying that Tehran agreed to conduct talks with the three European countries part of the 2015 agreement.
It added that consultations are ongoing regarding the timing and location of the talks.
The German source stated, "Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. For this reason, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom continue to work intensively within the group of three European countries to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program."
Western countries and Israel suspect that Tehran is seeking to possess an atomic bomb, which it denies, affirming its right to continue its nuclear program for civilian purposes.
On June 13, Israel launched a surprise attack on its regional arch-enemy, targeting in particular major military and nuclear facilities.
Then, on June 22, the United States launched strikes on the uranium enrichment facility in Fordow south of Tehran, and two nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.
- Larijani in the Kremlin -
Iran and the United States held five rounds of nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman before Israel launched its 12-day war against Iran.
However, President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel in bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities ended the talks.
The three European countries last met with Iran in Geneva on June 21, just one day before the American strikes.
In the meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in the Kremlin on Sunday with Ali Larijani, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Kremlin said that Larijani "conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and regarding the Iranian nuclear program."
It added that Putin expressed "Russia's known positions on the ways to stabilize the situation in the region and about the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear program."
Moscow maintains friendly relations with the Iranian leadership and provides significant support to Tehran, but it did not strongly support its partner during the war with Israel even after the United States joined the bombing campaign.
- Snapback mechanism -
In 2015, Iran and major powers signed a nuclear agreement called the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," which imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for easing sanctions on it.
However, the effects of the agreement were effectively canceled as of 2018 during Trump’s first term, when the United States withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iran responded about a year later by gradually retracting most of its commitments under it.
The Europeans warned that if Iran does not return to the talks soon, they will activate the "snapback" mechanism included in the nuclear agreement, which allows for the re-imposition of United Nations Security Council sanctions on Tehran if it does not comply with the terms of the agreement. The deadline for activating the mechanism ends in October.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after a phone call with his European counterparts on Friday that there is no "moral or legal basis" for reactivating the sanctions.
On Sunday, Araghchi wrote on the X platform "Through its actions and statements, including providing political and material support for the unjustified and illegal military aggression of the Israeli regime and the United States... the three European countries have forfeited their role as partners in the nuclear agreement."
He indicated that this matter made any attempt to reactivate canceled decisions of the United Nations Security Council "void and nullified."
He continued, "Iran has shown that it can thwart any +dirty deed+ and illusion, but is always ready to reciprocate serious diplomacy in good faith."
The German source emphasized that "if no solution is reached during the summer, then re-imposing sanctions remains an option for the group of three European countries."
Iran said last week that there will be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they are conditioned on Tehran foregoing its uranium enrichment activities.
