Tehran: Iran will hold key talks with France, Germany and Britain on Friday to discuss its nuclear program.
This important meeting took place when the three European countries together with the United States decided to criticize Tehran by the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Last week’s escalation prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have signaled engagement with other parties ahead of the return of US President-elect Donald Trump, whose last administration launched a crackdown against the Islamic Republic. A “maximum pressure” policy was followed.
Iranian diplomat Majid Takht Ravanchi, who serves as Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s political deputy, will represent Iran at Friday’s talks.
According to the state-run IRNA news agency, he will first meet Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European Union’s foreign affairs department.
Last week, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution condemning Iran for not cooperating on nuclear issues.
This resolution was brought by France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States and was strongly opposed by Tehran.
In response, Iran announced the launch of “new advanced centrifuges” designed to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Trump is set to return to the White House in January just weeks before his condemnation after Tehran expressed its willingness to sit down with three European countries.
During his first term, Trump focused on imposing heavy sanctions on Iran after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal three years after it was established.
The deal between Tehran and major powers was aimed at relieving Iran of Western sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
In return for the US withdrawal, Tehran has reduced compliance with the deal, raising its uranium enrichment level to 60 percent — close to the 90 percent required for a nuclear bomb.
Tehran has consistently denied any intention to acquire nuclear weapons.
For Tehran, Friday’s talks are aimed at avoiding a “double whammy” scenario, in which it would face renewed pressure from both Trump and European countries, according to political analyst Mustafa Shermohammadi.
He said that Iran’s support among European countries has ended due to accusations of Iran offering military support for Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Iran has denied the allegations and expressed hope for improved relations with Europe while maintaining a strong stance.
‘Legal Responsibilities’
The IAEA’s condemnation resolution urged Iran to “fulfill its legal obligations” under the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires member states to comply with IAEA oversight. Requirement to declare and maintain your nuclear material.
In response, Foreign Minister Araqchi, who played a key role in the 2015 nuclear talks, said Iran was operating “several thousand advanced centrifuges”.
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Aslami, said on Wednesday that they have started putting gas into centrifuges.
Centrifuges work by rapidly spinning uranium gas to increase the concentration of the fissile isotope U-235.
Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but according to the IAEA, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state that is enriching uranium to 60 percent.
Under the 2015 deal — which expires in October 2025 — Iran’s enrichment limit was 3.67 percent.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds Iran’s ultimate decision-making authority, has issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons.
Iran’s nuclear program dates back to the late 1950s, when then-ally the United States signed a civil cooperation agreement with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.