CORRECTS MISTAKE IN HEADLINE
By Anadolu staff
BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Monday confirmed plans for talks between Iran and the European troika – France, Germany, and the UK (E3) – over Tehran’s nuclear program and the country’s regional role.
“I can confirm that a meeting at the level of officials and political directors on the subject of, among other things, the nuclear issue is in the cards,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner told a press briefing in Berlin
“You know that we’re concerned about a lot of things about Iran. That is Iran's regional role, the proxies it uses. Of course, there is also the concern about the Iranian nuclear program. So this is a conversation where we have a channel to make our position clear, so to speak,” he added.
Wagner would not say when and where the E3-Iran talks would actually take place.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that deputy foreign ministers from the four countries will meet on Friday to discuss "bilateral, regional, and nuclear matters.”
However, he also did not specify the venue for the talks.
-New centrifuges on line, IAEA resolution
The announcement comes days after Iran activated advanced new centrifuges in retaliation for a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.
The resolution, drafted by France, Germany, and the UK and supported by the US, was passed during the board’s meeting in Vienna on Thursday.
The resolution criticized Iran for "failing to cooperate fully" with the UN nuclear agency and urged Tehran to address concerns related to uranium particles allegedly found at two of its nuclear sites.
It got 19 votes in favor, with Russia, China, and Burkina Faso opposing it, while 12 other members abstained.
In response, Iran activated a significant number of advanced centrifuges, saying the move was meant to "protect the country’s interests and further develop its peaceful nuclear industry," in accordance with its "rights and obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement."
In his statement, Baghaei reiterated Iran's "principled policy" of "interaction and cooperation with other countries," while emphasizing that the upcoming talks are a "continuation of discussions" held on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly summit in New York.
He added that the new round of talks, planned during the General Assembly, will address "a wide range of regional and international issues, including the situations in Palestine and Lebanon, alongside nuclear matters."
Iran's newly elected government headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian had vowed to reopen channels of communication with the West and to have sanctions eased. However, the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon and related developments have prevented that.
Nuclear diplomacy with Iran stalled during US President-elect Donald Trump's previous tenure, when Washington withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers that curbed Tehran's nuclear work in exchange for relief from international sanctions.