European talks with Iran yield no obvious breakthrough

Sydney Morning Herald

5 hours ago

Military operations could slow Iran's nuclear program, but in no way could they eliminate it, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. 'We know well – after having seen what happened in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya – how illusory and dangerous it is to want to impose regime change from outside.'
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Barrot also said that European nations 'invited the Iranian minister to envisage negotiations with all parties including the United States, and without waiting for the end of the strikes'.
He said Araghchi agreed 'to put all the issues on the table, including some that weren't there before' and 'showed his disposition to continuing the conversation that we started today, and for the Europeans to help facilitate, including with the United States.'
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, 'we agreed that we will discuss nuclear but also broader issues that we have, and keep the discussions open'.
Araghchi also addressed reporters outside the meeting venue after the talks ended. He expressed support for 'a continuation of discussions with the E3 and the EU and expressed his readiness to meet again in the near future'. He also denounced Israel's attacks against nuclear facilities in Iran and expressed 'grave concern' on what he called 'non-condemnation' by European nations.
US considering how to proceed
Lammy travelled to Geneva after meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordow uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. He said on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) that he'd decide within two weeks whether the US military would get directly involved in the war, given the 'substantial chance' for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.
He said on Friday he might support a ceasefire 'depending on the circumstances', adding that Europe would not be able to help much in the conflict.
'Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one,' Trump said.
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Israel says it launched its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon. Iran and the United States had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran's program, though Trump has said Israel's campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.
Barrot said that 'we wanted to open a discussion with the Iranian foreign minister because we believe that there is no definitive solution by military means to the Iranian nuclear problem – military operations may delay it, but they can't eliminate it'.
'We are not seeking negotiations'
Iran's supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender on Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them'.
Before Friday's talks, Araghchi said in an interview aired by Iranian state television that 'in the current situation, as the Zionist regime's attacks continue, we are not seeking negotiations with anyone'.
He said that 'we have nothing to discuss with the United States, which is a partner in these crimes', and Tehran rejected negotiations with the Americans.
'As for others, if they seek dialogue, not negotiations, which don't make sense right now, we have no problem with that,' he added. He said the discussion overnight would focus 'solely on the nuclear issue and regional matters', and Iran would not hold talks on its missiles with anyone.
Threats to reinstate sanctions
Just before meeting the European diplomats, Araghchi made a brief appearance before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. He said that Israel's 'attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes', and insisted that 'we are entitled … and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty and security with all force'.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60 per cent, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.
The three European countries played an important role in the negotiations over the original 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. But they have repeatedly threatened to reinstate sanctions that were lifted under the deal if Iran does not improve its co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.