The next round of talks with European powers will take place a week before Trump returns to the White House.
The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and France, the United Kingdom and Germany will take place in Geneva in January, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported, citing the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
“The new round of talks between Iran and the three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13,” Gharibabadi said on Wednesday.
Iran held talks with three European powers over its controversial nuclear program in November. The talks, the first since the US presidential election, came as Tehran was angered by a European-backed resolution accusing Iran of poor cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Tehran reacted to the resolution by informing the IAEA watchdog that it plans to install more uranium enrichment centrifuges at its enrichment facilities.
On December 17, the three European countries accused Iran of increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium to “unprecedented levels” without “any credible civilian justification”. They have also raised the possibility of reinstating sanctions against Iran to keep it from developing its nuclear program.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the Reuters news agency in December that Iran was “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, closer to the weapons-grade level of around 90 percent.
Tehran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has consistently denied any ambitions to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.
In 2015, Iran reached a deal with world powers, including the US, to curb its nuclear program due to concerns about the country’s possible development of nuclear weapons.
But in 2018, then-Donald Trump’s administration pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits with moves such as rebuilding of enriched uranium reserves, its refining to a higher degree of decay. cleanliness and installation of advanced centrifuges to speed up production.
Indirect talks between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said during his election campaign in September: “We have to make an agreement, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal.”
The January 13 talks will take place a week before Trump returns to the White House.
