France and Germany on Wednesday pushed for Iran’s rapid return to nuclear deal talks, after the pause since the latter’s June elections.
Paris demanded an “immediate” resume of negotiations in light of concerns from Western countries over Tehran’s expansion in atomic work.
The Foreign Minister of France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, talked with his new Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, over the phone.
According to the France ministry’s statement, Le Drian told Amirabdollahian that Tehran needed to return to the negotiations.
After Ebrahim Raisi became the new Iran’s elected president, a sixth cycle of indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington occurred.
Evidently, Raisi assumed office on 5 August.
Iran-US Compliance issues
Iran and six other countries have attempted to resolve how Tehran and Washington can both comply with the nuclear deal.
The former US President, Donald Trump, opted out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed heavy sanctions on Tehran.
“The minister underlined the importance and urgency of an immediate resumption of negotiations,” the foreign ministry said.
The French minister reiterated his concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities, which violate the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran gradually violated provisions in the deal following the US abandonment in 2018.
The next negotiation cycle is yet to be scheduled.
In July, two senior officials in Iran said Raisi plans to take a stronger position in the talks.
The Iranian minister, Amirabdollahian, said on Monday that the talks may continue in “two to three months.”
However, it’s unknown whether the time frame started from now or when Raisi assumed government last month.
Germany also pressured Iran to resume the negotiations “as soon as possible.”
“We are ready to do so, but the time window won’t stay indefinitely,” a ministry spokesperson briefed.
In July, France, Germany and the UK expressed concerns over reports from the UN watchdog.
The report confirms Tehran’s production of 20% enriched uranium for the first time and increasing its production capacity to 60%.
However, Iran denies the allegations and says it does not seek nuclear weapons.
