Iran, 3 European powers to hold nuke talks

TEHERAN — A new round of talks between Teheran and the E3 group of France, the UK and Germany will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan 13, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in an address to reporters in Teheran on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani by the United States in January 2020, the report said.

The talks, "which are not considered negotiations", would focus on clarifying different issues of common concern and holding further consultations, so as to decide on the method and framework for any possible negotiations in the future, said Gharibabadi.

In previous talks, senior diplomats from Iran and the three European powers convened in Geneva in late November, exchanging views on a range of issues, including Teheran's nuclear program.

Following the November talks, Gharibabadi said "candid discussions" had been held, noting, "We discussed and took stock of recent bilateral, regional and international developments, particularly issues concerning the nuclear program and lifting of sanctions."

Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on it. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Teheran to scale back its commitments under the deal.

The talks to revive the deal began in April 2021 in Austria's capital Vienna. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved.

The discussions set for Jan 13, the first since the US election, came after Teheran was angered by a European-backed resolution that accused Iran of poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is "dramatically" accelerating its enrichment of uranium. Teheran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and says its program is peaceful.

Also at Wednesday's ceremony, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cited Soleimani's role in the resistance and fight against "terrorism" as "unique".

"Soleimani's constant strategy was to revive the Resistance Front," Khamenei said ahead of the ceremony.

Mike Gu in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

Xinhua - Agencies