- Iran holds first conversations with Western powers since Israeli, strike us.
- The main focus of negotiations is 18 October UN resolution expired.
- IAEA chief optimistic inspectors may return this year.
Iran said it would continue nuclear conversations with European powers after “serious, honest and detailed” conversations on Friday, the first such face to face-meeting since Israel and the United States bombed Iran last month.
Before the Istanbul meeting, Iran also pushed back on proposals to expand the United Nations decision, which ratifies a 2015 agreement, is approaching outlet designed to limit its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian colleagues for about four hours at Iran’s consulate for conversations, as the UN nuclear watchdog said could give an opening to resume inspections in Iran.
Iran, Europeans present ideas
Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterwards that both sides had presented specific ideas about sanctions relief and nuclear questions.
“While we severely criticized their attitudes about the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principle positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism,” he said.
“It was agreed that consultations on this case will continue.”
The European countries, together with China and Russia, are the remaining parties in the 2015 agreement – from which the United States withdrew in 2018 – which lifted sanctions against Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
A deadline on October 18 is fast approaching when the decision that that agreement expires.
At that time, all UN sanctions are lifted against Iran, unless the “snapback” mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before. This will automatically reintroduce these sanctions that target sectors from hydrocarbons to bank and defense.
To give time to happen, E3 has set a deadline for the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six months.
Europeans want nuclear obligations from Iran
Iran would have to commit to key issues, including any conversations with Washington, full cooperation with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounts for 400 kg (880 pounds) of almost weapons quality highly enriched uranium, whose residence is unknown since last months of knitwear.
Before the negotiations, an Iranian spokesman for the Foreign Ministry had said that Tehran was considering talking about expanding the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be “meaningless and groundless.”
The IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits could possibly restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
“We have to agree on where to go, how to do it. We have to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider must be the precautions to be taken,” he told journalists in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran before its June air striker, as US President Donald Trump said “wiped out” a program that Washington and its allied Israel say is aimed at acquiring an atomic bomb.
However, NBC News Has quoted current and former US officials to say that a subsequent US assessment found that although the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear places, the other two were not so severely damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and saying its nuclear program is intended for civil purposes only
