European Powers to Hold Nuclear Talks with Tehran in Geneva
Foreign Ministers from Britain, France and Germany along with the EU's top diplomat will hold nuclear talks on Friday with their Iranian Counterpart in Geneva, according to Reuters. Coming Talks
Before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister, European Ministers will first meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, at Germany's permanent mission in Geneva.
The initiative comes at a crucial time as fears are mounting due to the mounting tensions in the Middle East after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13.
'We will meet with the European delegation in Geneva on Friday,' Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA. Iranian Guarantees
In coordination with the US, Friday's talks seek basically to persuade Iran to introduce strong guarantees that its nuclear program will be used only for civilian purposes.
US President Donald Trump has recently fueled the existing concerns after refusing to disclose whether the US will support its ally Israel it its war against Iran.
As the war enters seventh day, Israel has said its strikes aim mainly to eliminate Tehran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Iran denies that its nuclear program is for military purposes. Israeli-Iranian Tensions
On June 13, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran under the name of Operation Rising Lion. The military campaign targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
As a response, Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles against Israel and targeted Tel Aviv. Israel also killed three more Iranian nuclear scientists, bringing the total number of scientists slain to nine, Gulf News reported.
Currently, both countries are trading missiles and attacks amid intensifying efforts to halt the conflict.
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