GENEVA: Tehran is ready to “consider diplomacy” again only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said following talks with his European counterparts on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed… We support the continuation of discussion with” Britain, France, Germany and the European Union “and express our readiness to meet again in the near future,” Araghchi told reporters following the talks at a Geneva hotel.
European powers on Friday urged Iran to continue diplomacy with the United States to find a solution in the standoff over its nuclear programme as Israel keeps up its bombardment of the Islamic republic.
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“The good result today is that we leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is ready to further discuss all the important questions,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a statement alongside his British, French and EU counterparts after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“It is of great importance that the United States takes part in these negotiations and the solution,” he added.
The statement read by all four top diplomats in their native languages after the talks expressed hope of further progress but did not make any mention of a breakthrough in the talks in Geneva.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “We are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States.”
“This is a perilous moment, and it is hugely important that we don’t see regional escalation of this conflict,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there “can be no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem. Military operations can delay it but they cannot eliminate it”.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Barrot also warned: “It is illusory and dangerous to want to impose a regime change from the outside. It is up to the people to decide their own destiny.”
“We invited the Iranian minister to consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for,” he said.
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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said for her part: “Today the regional escalation benefits no-one. We must keep the discussions open.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said earlier the Iranian delegation “emphasised that Iran has not left the negotiating table”.
Israel began its campaign on Friday last week saying the operation was aimed at halting Tehran from obtaining an atomic bomb, an ambition Iran denies having.
Iranian strikes launched in response have also caused damage in Israel.