Tehran will continue enriching uranium and maintain a firm stance on its nuclear rights during talks with France, Britain and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
“The discussions that will be held tomorrow are a continuation of previous talks. Our position is completely clear,” Abbas Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iran’s official IRNA.
“The world must know that there has been no change in our position, and we continue to firmly and resolutely defend the rights of the Iranian people to peaceful nuclear energy, particularly enrichment.”
The meeting with the three European powers, collectively known as the E3, will be the first since last month’s US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
It comes as pressure mounts ahead of the October expiry of a 2015 nuclear deal which remains in effect among Iran, the E3, China and Russia after the United States withdrew in 2018. The accord lifted international sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Washington and its European allies have set an end-of-August deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear deal or face the reimposition of full UN sanctions under the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, any party to the accord can file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance.
If no agreement is reached within 30 days to maintain sanctions relief, all previous UN sanctions would automatically “snapback,” including arms embargoes, cargo inspections and missile restrictions.
Snapback mechanism focus of Istanbul talks
The meeting in Istanbul on Friday will be focused on the snapback mechanism, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday, citing diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and Iran.
The E3 is due to float the possibility to Iran of extending the snapback mechanism by up to six months, the report said.
In return, Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, and accounting for its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
On Wednesday, twenty US senators sponsored a resolution urging the E3 to trigger the snapback mechanism on Iran as soon as possible.
A day earlier, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Washington is open to direct talks with Iran but the next move must come from Tehran.
