France has indicated that European powers are also ready for dialogue if Tehran shows it is seriously engaged

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he is ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, and France has indicated that European powers are also ready for dialogue if Tehran shows it is seriously engaged.

Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States, which will resume in Oman on Saturday, and after talks with Russia and China this week. Its message to the European powers that were party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal suggests Tehran is keeping its options open.

Since September, Tehran and the three European powers known as the E3 – France, Germany and the United Kingdom – have already held several rounds of discussions over their ties and the nuclear issue.

The most recent in March was held at the technical level and looked at the parameters of a future deal to secure a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions against it.

European diplomats had said they were seeking a new meeting with Iran although the momentum towards talks appeared to stall when Tehran began indirect negotiations on its nuclear programme with US President Donald Trump’s administration this month.

Trump, who abandoned the landmark 2015 pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly and the agreement prevents it from developing a nuclear weapon.

“Iran’s relations with the E3 … have experienced ups and downs in recent history. Like it or not, they are currently down,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“I once again propose diplomacy. After my recent consultations in Moscow & Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin & London. … The ball is now in the E3’s court.”

‘A diplomatic solution’

The European powers have seen their ties with Iran worsen over other issues, including its ballistic missile programme, detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.

When asked about Araghchi’s comments, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesman Christophe Lemoine said the E3 favoured dialogue but wanted to see how serious Iran was.

“The only solution is a diplomatic solution, and Iran must resolutely engage in this path, and it’s a proposal the E3 have put forward many times, so we will continue dialogue with the Iranians,” he said at a news conference.

Germany and Britain did not immediately comment on the matter.

The US did not tell European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before Trump announced them, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran.

However, the US lead technical negotiator, Michael Anton, briefed E3 diplomats in Paris on April 17, according to two European diplomats, suggesting that coordination has improved.

Expert-level Iran-US talks will take place on Saturday, Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, with a third round of high-level nuclear talks due on the same day in Oman.

Anton, who was a spokesman for the White House National Security Council during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021, will lead a team of about a dozen US government officials to negotiate.

Western countries have long suspected Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it has consistently denied. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into concessions, making detailed discussions on strategy between the Americans and Europeans vital, the Reuters news agency quoted diplomats as saying.

Because the US quit the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council.

That makes the E3, the only other participants in the 2015 deal capable of and interested in pursuing snapback.

According to diplomats quoted by Reuters, the E3 diplomats are looking to trigger snapback by August as opposed to an earlier June timeframe if no substantial deal can be found by then. That opportunity expires on October 18 when the 2015 accord ends.