Iran, EU hold 'frank' nuclear talks, as sanctions loom
Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran's consulate for talks that the UN nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterwards that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue.
"While seriously criticising their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," he said.
"It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018. It lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
A deadline of October 18 is fast approaching, when the resolution governing that deal expires.
At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before.
This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence.
To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of 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.
Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kilograms of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes.
Before the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless".
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
"We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran before its air strikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a program that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb.
However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found that while the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear sites, the other two were not as badly damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its program is meant solely for civilian purposes.
Tehran says it will continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the US bombed Iran last month.
Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran's consulate for talks that the UN nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterwards that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue.
"While seriously criticising their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," he said.
"It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018. It lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
A deadline of October 18 is fast approaching, when the resolution governing that deal expires.
At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before.
This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence.
To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of 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.
Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kilograms of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes.
Before the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless".
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
"We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran before its air strikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a program that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb.
However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found that while the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear sites, the other two were not as badly damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its program is meant solely for civilian purposes.
Tehran says it will continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the US bombed Iran last month.
Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran's consulate for talks that the UN nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterwards that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue.
"While seriously criticising their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," he said.
"It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018. It lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
A deadline of October 18 is fast approaching, when the resolution governing that deal expires.
At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before.
This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence.
To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of 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.
Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kilograms of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes.
Before the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless".
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
"We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran before its air strikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a program that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb.
However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found that while the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear sites, the other two were not as badly damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its program is meant solely for civilian purposes.
Tehran says it will continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the US bombed Iran last month.
Before the meeting in Istanbul, Iran also pushed back on suggestions of extending the United Nations resolution that ratifies a 2015 deal, nearing expiry, that was designed to curb its nuclear program.
Delegations from the European Union and so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany met Iranian counterparts for about four hours at Iran's consulate for talks that the UN nuclear watchdog said could provide an opening to resume inspections in Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said afterwards that both sides had presented specific ideas on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue.
"While seriously criticising their stances regarding the recent war of aggression against our people, we explained our principled positions, including on the so-called snapback mechanism," he said.
"It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue."
The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018. It lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
A deadline of October 18 is fast approaching, when the resolution governing that deal expires.
At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless the "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before.
This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence.
To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of 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.
Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and accounting for 400 kilograms of near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes.
Before the talks, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson had said Tehran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless".
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said he was optimistic that nuclear inspection visits might be able to restart this year and that it was important to discuss the technical details now.
"We need to agree on where to go, how to do it. We need to listen to Iran in terms of what they consider should be the precautions to be taken," he told reporters in Singapore.
The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran before its air strikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a program that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb.
However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found that while the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted nuclear sites, the other two were not as badly damaged.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and says its program is meant solely for civilian purposes.
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The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. with DPA and AP Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet and it could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided, the Kremlin says. "At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. "We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues," he added in televised comments. Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise. The possible venue will be announced "a little later," he said. A meeting between the two presidents would be their first since Mr Trump returned to office this year. And a face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since World War II. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019 and make no secret of their contempt for each other. The New York Times reported earlier that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday, he intended to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskiy." The details emerged following a meeting on Wednesday between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff that Trump described as having achieved "great progress" in a Truth Social post, although later said he would not call it a breakthrough. A Kremlin aide said the talks were "useful and constructive". The diplomatic manoeuvres come two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, including oil. Trump on Wednesday also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 per cent duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil. "We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China," he said. Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged "signals" on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic co-operation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details. Zelenskiy said he believed pressure had worked on Russia and Moscow was now more "inclined" to a ceasefire. "The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details - neither us nor the US," he said in his nightly address. Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies following Witkoff's meeting. A German government spokesperson said Trump provided information about the status of the talks with Russia during a call with the German chancellor and other European leaders. Trump took a key step toward punitive measures on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. with DPA and AP Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet and it could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided, the Kremlin says. "At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. "We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues," he added in televised comments. Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise. The possible venue will be announced "a little later," he said. A meeting between the two presidents would be their first since Mr Trump returned to office this year. And a face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since World War II. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019 and make no secret of their contempt for each other. The New York Times reported earlier that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday, he intended to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskiy." The details emerged following a meeting on Wednesday between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff that Trump described as having achieved "great progress" in a Truth Social post, although later said he would not call it a breakthrough. A Kremlin aide said the talks were "useful and constructive". The diplomatic manoeuvres come two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, including oil. Trump on Wednesday also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 per cent duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil. "We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China," he said. 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The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. with DPA and AP Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet and it could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided, the Kremlin says. "At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. "We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues," he added in televised comments. Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise. The possible venue will be announced "a little later," he said. A meeting between the two presidents would be their first since Mr Trump returned to office this year. And a face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since World War II. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019 and make no secret of their contempt for each other. The New York Times reported earlier that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday, he intended to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskiy." 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Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged "signals" on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic co-operation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details. Zelenskiy said he believed pressure had worked on Russia and Moscow was now more "inclined" to a ceasefire. "The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details - neither us nor the US," he said in his nightly address. Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies following Witkoff's meeting. A German government spokesperson said Trump provided information about the status of the talks with Russia during a call with the German chancellor and other European leaders. Trump took a key step toward punitive measures on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. with DPA and AP
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