Khaberni -Iran holds new talks on its nuclear program with Germany, France, and Britain on Friday in Istanbul, marking the first since the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June amid the war between Israel and Tehran.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Baqaei, announced that "in response to the request of the European countries, Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks with representatives of the three European countries, members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," according to what was broadcast on official television indicating that the meeting will take place in Istanbul.
A German diplomatic source earlier reported that Berlin, Paris, and London "continue to work intensively within the group of three European countries to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program," intending to hold a meeting during the current week.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote on X on Sunday, "Iran has shown that it can down any 'dirty action' and naive, but it is always ready to reciprocate serious diplomacy in good faith."
Western countries and Israel suspect that Tehran seeks to possess a nuclear 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 specifically key military and nuclear facilities.
Then on June 22, the United States struck a uranium enrichment facility in Fordo, south of Tehran, and two nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.
Iran and the United States held five rounds of nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman before Israel waged its 12-day war against Iran.
However, President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel by 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.
Meeting with Putin
In the meantime, on Sunday, the Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in the Kremlin with Ali Larijani, one of the top advisors to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Larijani "conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and about the Iranian nuclear program."
He added that Putin expressed "Russia's known positions on the ways through which the situation can be stabilized in the region and around 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.
Last week, Moscow condemned a report on the American site Axios stating that Putin urged Iran to accept an agreement with Washington preventing it from enriching uranium.
Trigger Mechanism
Iran and major powers signed a nuclear deal in 2015 named 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 became virtually null as of 2018 during Trump's first term, when the United States withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
In response, about a year later, Iran gradually began retracting most of its commitments under it.
Europeans warned that if Iran does not return to the talks soon, they will activate the "trigger mechanism" (snapback) included in the nuclear agreement, which allows the reimposition of International Security Council sanctions on Tehran in case of non-compliance with the terms of the agreement. The deadline to activate the mechanism ends in October.
After a phone call with his European counterparts on Friday, Araghchi said there is no "moral or legal basis" to reactivate the sanctions.
On Sunday, Araghchi wrote on X, "Through their actions and declarations, including providing political and material support for the unjustified and illegal military aggression by the Israeli regime and the United States... the three European countries have relinquished their role as 'participants' in the nuclear agreement."
