Iran's Foreign Minister to Meet With European Counterparts Amid War Fears

New York Times

4 hours ago

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was scheduled to meet with top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany on Friday in Geneva, in a last-ditch effort to avert a dangerous escalation in the weeklong conflict between Israel and Iran.
With President Trump setting a new deadline of two weeks before he decides whether to join Israel's aerial campaign against military and nuclear sites in Iran, the European diplomats will deliver an urgent message to Mr. Araghchi that his government must make significant concessions in its nuclear program.
Expectations for the meeting were restrained, given the wide gaps between Iran and the United States in their now-suspended negotiations. Yet Mr. Trump's reprieve, after a week in which he seemed to be marching inexorably toward war, buoyed hopes somewhat, suggesting that there was still time to act.
'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future,' the president said in a statement on Thursday, 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.'
Mr. Trump denied reports that he had already authorized an attack on Iran but withheld final approval to see if Iran's leaders acceded to his demand that they abandon the country's nuclear program.
Among the issues on the table in Geneva, officials from several countries said, are giving outside inspectors unfettered access to Iran's nuclear facilities, as well as cutting its stockpile of ballistic missiles, which it has fired against Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes on military bases and nuclear installations.
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