Iran FM to Hold Talks With EU on Sanctions Removal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi will hold a joint phone call on Friday with his counterparts from France, Britain and Germany, as well as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, to discuss nuclear issues and sanctions.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said the talks would focus on Iran’s demands for the lifting of “unjust sanctions” and on the need for European governments to respond to recent “criminal attacks” against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Araqchi said earlier that Tehran’s contacts with Europe were aimed at clarifying whether there was ground for “real negotiation and serious exchange.” He stressed that talks should not be limited to “negotiation for the sake of negotiation,” but should instead determine the basis for any meaningful dialogue.
He added that in discussions with European officials, Iran questioned what concrete measures Europe could take, including which sanctions or threats it could lift. According to Araqchi, Europe’s only perceived leverage was the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Araqchi argued Europe had no legal right to trigger snapback, since its own positions, including the call for “zero enrichment,” amounted to abandoning the nuclear accord after the US withdrawal. He warned that any use of snapback would end Europe’s role in diplomacy, leaving it sidelined in future negotiations.
He noted that while a possible return of past UN Security Council resolutions would be undesirable, such measures no longer carry the same weight or impact as before.
