DUBAI (Reuters) -Talks held in Geneva among Iran, Britain, France and Germany aimed to find a way to resume nuclear talks, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday in an interview with Iran’s state TV.
Iran’s official news agency reported earlier on Tuesday that the talks held in Geneva on Monday will lead to dialogue continuing regarding Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
“The talks were serious, frank, and constructive. We discussed ideas involving certain details in the sanctions-lifting and nuclear fields that are needed for a deal,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for international and legal affairs, wrote on social media on Monday.
“Sides concurred that negotiations should be resumed and to reach a deal, all parties should create and maintain the appropriate atmosphere. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” he added.
The talks followed discussions in November. At that time, an Iranian official told Reuters that finalising a roadmap with Europeans would “put the ball in the U.S. court to revive or kill the nuclear deal.”
In 2018, the U.S., led by then-President Donald Trump, exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran.
That prompted Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Iran will not negotiate with the U.S. about nuclear matters unless Washington returns to the 2015 nuclear deal or announces its policy regarding it, Araqchi said in the interview.
Indirect talks between U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed.
Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to wreck Iran’s economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme, ballistic missile programme and regional activities.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly, Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Jamie Freed and Rod Nickel)
