TEHRAN: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday he would be willing to visit Germany, France and Britain for talks on his country's nuclear programme.
Tehran recently reopened nuclear talks with its arch-foe the United States, engaging in two rounds of mediated negotiations in Muscat and Rome, with a third slated for Saturday back in the Omani capital.
Germany, France and Britain, along with the United States, were among the parties to a landmark 2015 deal that placed curbs Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief -- a deal that collapsed after US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
“After my recent consultations in Moscow and Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin and London,“ Araghchi said in a post on X, adding that he was open to talks “not only on the nuclear issue, but in each and every other area of mutual interest and concern”.
Araghchi was in China on Wednesday to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi ahead of Saturday's talks with the United States.
Last week he visited Moscow for similar discussions and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Araghchi voiced satisfaction at the level of cooperation with allies China and Russia, but said on Thursday that ties with the three European powers, or E3, “are currently down”.
He added that “the ball is now in the E3’s court”, saying they “have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path”.
French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told AFP that Paris would wait and see “if this announcement by the Iranian minister is followed by effects”.
He added that France “will very willingly continue to dialogue with the Iranians” on the nuclear subject.
Germany and Britain did not immediately comment on the matter.
Snapback
Iran and the E3 have recently taken steps to re-establish a dialogue on the nuclear issue, holding a handful of meetings since late last year.
Following Washington's withdrawal, Tehran stuck to the 2015 agreement for a year before scaling back its compliance, increasing its enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67 percent ceiling set by the deal, but short of the 90 percent required for a bomb.
In December, the three European countries warned of the possibility of triggering the so-called “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 accord if Iran continued to develop its nuclear programme.
If triggered, the mechanism would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance. The option to activate it expires in October.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged European countries to decide whether to use the option.
Iran has previously warned it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the mechanism were triggered.
On Wednesday Araghchi slammed, without elaborating, “attempts by the Israeli regime and certain Special Interest groups to derail diplomacy” and undermine the ongoing talks with the US.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said Wednesday that Iran was an existential threat and warned that “the fate of all humanity” was at stake if it acquired nuclear arms.
Iran has consistently denied allegations it is pursuing an atomic bomb, insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
Western governments have also criticised Iran's missile programme and accused it of providing Russia with weapons in its war against Ukraine.
Iran has denied the accusations, saying it has not supported any side in the conflict.
