EU to influence Iran nuclear talks from side-lines in Geneva

Euronews

a day ago

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom - collectively known as the E3 - will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva to discuss Iran's nuclear program tomorrow in Geneva.
While the EU has historically played a key role in negotiations with Iran, it seems unlikely to participate in the formal talks.
When asked by Euronews whether EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas would participate in the talks, a European Commission spokesperson gave no clear confirmation.
'We have always expressed our openness to dialogue and negotiation. When such dialogue occurs, we will inform you,' the spokesperson said, leaving open the possibility of a last-minute invitation.
Before the E3-Iran meeting, the European ministers are expected to meet with Kallas at Germany's permanent mission in Geneva however – a move that highlights the EU's continued efforts to coordinate and facilitate diplomacy, even if indirectly.
The EU has long played a central role in the Iran nuclear negotiations, particularly through the High Representative for Foreign Affairs in the broader EU+3 format – which once included other countries such as the United States, Russia, and China.
Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the UN-brokered nuclear agreement aimed at lifting sanctions in exchange for Iran's compliance with nuclear obligations, the EU served as a key facilitator and guardian of the agreement's implementation.
Under the previous administration of Donald Trump the US pulled out of the JCPOA.
The upcoming talks are expected to revive dialogue in light of the escalating conflict and persuade Iran to provide credible guarantees that its nuclear program remains exclusively civilian in nature.
However, the influence of the European parties has waned in recent months. The last E3-Iran meeting was held in January 2025, shortly before US President Donald Trump assumed office.
Subsequent indirect US-Iran talks, brokered by Oman, failed to yield results, with the sixth planned round cancelled after the Israeli military strikes on Iran.
Although not directly involved this time, the EU has played a behind-the-scenes role as a diplomatic facilitator, attempting to bridge divides among European countries and even between Europe and the United States.
The EU's presence in the talks has visibly diminished since the tenure of former High Representative Federica Mogherini, who was a prominent architect and staunch defender of the 2015 deal.
Despite its limited visibility, the EU hopes that its coordinating efforts can still shape the outcome of the talks or at least keep the door open for renewed multilateral diplomacy on Iran's nuclear file.
"Iran possesses a threat not only to Israel, (but also) to the region and to Europe," Israel's ambassador to the European Union and NATO, Haim Regev, told Euronews in an interview on Thursday.
"They are involved in promoting terror, they are involved with provocation, they are involved in many, many acts. So they are already the main cause for instability in the region and for the world," he explained.
Regev was speaking to Euronews as day seven of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran shows no sign of ending.
Early on Thursday, Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles at Israel, with one striking the Soroka Medical Centre in Be'er Sheva.
The barrage from Iran appeared to be in direct retaliation for Israeli strikes on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure the previous day.
"Iran has a clear plan for the annihilation of the state of Israel," Regev said.
"In the last period, we saw that Iran is accelerating its programme, its plan, in two main aspects. First of all, its nuclear programme and second, production of missiles, surface-to-surface missiles. So we come to a point where we saw we need to act to remove this threat."
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning, killing several key figures from within the country's security apparatus and a number of nuclear scientists.
The first wave of strikes, which involved around 200 fighter jets, took out at least four senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, as well as hitting nuclear and military targets across the country.
But Regev dismissed the idea that the main target of the IDF operation is regime change in Iran.
"The target of this military operation is to remove the nuclear threat and the missile threat. As I mentioned, Iran has a concrete and operative plan. And this is the main goal of this, our military operation right now," he told Euronews.
The conflict has also led to an escalating war of words, particularly between US President Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he intended to bring the US military into the conflict to strike Iran alongside Israel, Trump said, "I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I'm going to do."
While Trump appeared to avoid a direct commitment to military action, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interpreted his comments as a show of support and, in a television address later on Wednesday evening, thanked Trump for "standing by us".
Into that mix came Iran's mission to the United Nations, which said no officials from the country would "grovel at the gates of the White House" to reach a nuclear deal with the United States.
And it's Iran's nuclear programme which sits at the core of the current military escalation.
Iran was previously subject to an international nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which saw the country receive sanctions relief in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear activities.
During his first term in office, Trump withdrew the US from the pact in 2018, slamming it as "The worst deal ever negotiated" and slapping new sanctions on Iran.
Since then, the other signatories to the deal have scrambled to keep Iran in compliance, but Tehran considers the deal void and has continued with uranium enrichment, which at current levels sits at 60%.
That's still technically below the weapons-grade levels of 90% but is still far above the 3.67% permitted under the JCPOA.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful and purely for civilian purposes. Israel, on the other hand, says Tehran is working towards the construction of a nuclear weapon, which could be used against Israel.
"We, as democracy, when we go to a war, it's only if we do not have a choice or it was initiated by the other side. So we went to this war because we didn't see any other choice," Regev said.
"Israel did not come here to solve the problem of the world. Israel come here to solve its own threat that come from Iran. But due to the success, I see here an opportunity."
"And I hope that diplomacy will play a role, but this time will be more concrete, practical with the specific outcomes," Regev concluded.