GENEVA: Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany on Monday, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
\nThey are the second round of talks over Iran\u2019s nuclear program in less than two months, following a discreet meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in November between Tehran and the three European powers, known as the E3.
\n\u201cThese are not negotiations,\u201d the German foreign ministry told AFP. Iran has similarly emphasized that the talks are merely \u201cconsultations.\u201d
\nThe talks, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, will cover a \u201cwide range of topics,\u201d Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a weekly press briefing.
\n\u201cThe primary objective of these talks is to remove the sanctions\u201d on Iran, he noted, adding that Iran was also \u201clistening to the… topics that the opposite parties want to raise.\u201d
\nOn Thursday, France\u2019s foreign ministry said the meeting was a sign that the E3 countries \u201care continuing to work toward a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program, the progress of which is extremely problematic.\u201d
\nThe talks come as Iran\u2019s nuclear program received renewed focus in light of Trump\u2019s imminent return to the White House on January 20.
\nDuring his first term, Trump had pursued a policy of \u201cmaximum pressure,\u201d withdrawing the US from a landmark nuclear deal which imposed curbs on Iran\u2019s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
\nTehran adhered to the deal until Washington\u2019s withdrawal, but then began rolling back its commitments.
\nEfforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered and European officials have repeatedly expressed frustrations over Tehran\u2019s non-compliance.
\n\u2019Breaking point\u2019
\nLast week, French President Emmanuel Macron said the acceleration of Iran\u2019s nuclear program is \u201cbringing us very close to the breaking point.\u201d Iran later blasted the comments as \u201cbaseless\u201d and \u201cdeceitful.\u201d
\nIn December, Britain, Germany and France accused Tehran of growing its stockpile of high enriched uranium to \u201cunprecedented levels\u201d without \u201cany credible civilian justification.\u201d
\n\u201cWe reiterate our determination to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snapback if necessary,\u201d they added.
\nThe snapback mechanism \u2014 part of the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)– allows signatories to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran in cases of the \u201csignificant non-performance\u201d of commitments.
\nThe option to trigger the mechanism expires in October this year, adding urgency to the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
\nThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog says Iran has increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium such that it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent.
\nThat level is well on the way to the 90 percent required for an atomic bomb.
\nIran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.
\nIt has also repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the deal.
\nPresident Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has favored reviving that agreement and called for ending his country\u2019s isolation.
\nIn a recent interview with China\u2019s CCTV, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also expressed willingness \u201cto engage in constructive negotiations.\u201d
\n\u201cThe formula that we believe in is the same as the previous JCPOA formula, namely, building trust on Iran\u2019s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA: Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany on Monday, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They are the second round of talks over Iran\u2019s nuclear program in less than two months, following a discreet meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, in November between Tehran and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-455103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n