Foreign ministers from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have urged Iran to “return as quickly as possible and without preconditions to the negotiating table” regarding its nuclear program, according to a French diplomatic source.
The source noted that Jean-Yves Le Drian, David Lammy, and Johannes Hahn, who held discussions on Monday evening with European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, “called on Iran to refrain from any actions that could contradict Western interests, including any regional expansion or nuclear escalation,” such as halting cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency or withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as exceeding permitted enrichment levels.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry reported on Monday night that a communication took place between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the negotiations for Iran, and his counterparts from France, the UK, Germany, and Josep Borrell.
Araghchi characterized the Israeli attack on Iran as a “setback” for diplomacy, stating that “the Israeli aggression against Iran amidst the negotiations with the United States over the nuclear issue strikes a blow to diplomacy.”
The three countries are parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement, alongside China and Russia, from which former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew during his first term in office.
The United States began indirect negotiations with Iran at the start of the year, which have stalled over uranium enrichment issues.
A new round of talks was scheduled for the past weekend in Oman, but was ultimately canceled due to the Israeli offensive against Iran.
In return, the three ministers conveyed messages to Israel regarding the “necessity to avoid targeting authorities, infrastructure, and civilian populations” in its strikes on Iran, according to the French diplomatic source.