European foreign ministers held a confrontational call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X/Twitter.
Araghchi had made no headway regarding concessions for his country’s nuclear program, the report said. He reportedly expressed some openness to extending the snapback deadline Europe set, which is to begin at the end of the month, but stressed this is for the United Nations Security Council to decide.
Iran’s foreign minister said that the US was not interested in negotiations with his country and that the two countries had no plans to meet.
He added that a stockpile of 60% enriched uranium is buried under rubble and is currently inaccessible.
Leaders from the E3 countries (Britain, France, and Germany) announced that they would meet with Iranian officials this coming week to discuss concessions to Tehran’s nuclear program.
This information was revealed after The Jerusalem Post reported that a low-ranking Iranian delegation met in Vienna with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Europe announces talks with Iran
This diplomatic blitz comes as Europeans approach a deadline they have set: either Iranian concessions on its nuclear program – most importantly, restoring IAEA monitoring – should take place, or the activation of the snapback mechanism, which would reimpose significant sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed on Friday that talks would be held this coming week between Iran and European powers over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We just had an important call involving my colleagues David Lammy, the German foreign minister, and [EU Vice President] Kaja Kallas [who is also the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] with our Iranian counterpart regarding the nuclear program and the sanctions against Iran that we are preparing to reapply,” Barrot wrote on X/Twitter.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated that the European leaders instructed their political directors to meet with their Iranian counterparts this week.
“We remain committed to diplomacy, but time is very short and Iran needs to engage substantively in order to avoid the activation of snapback. We have been clear that we will not let the snapback of sanctions expire unless there is a verifiable and durable deal.”
Kallas noted that the European Union was pushing for a democratic solution.
“With the deadline for the snapback mechanism fast approaching, Iran’s readiness to engage with the US is crucial,” she said.