Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran's nuclear program, with France indicating European powers were also ready for dialogue if Tehran showed it was seriously engaged.
Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States that resume in Oman on Saturday and after talks with Russia and China earlier this week.
“Iran's relations with the E3 (France, Britain, and Germany) ...have experienced ups and downs in recent history. Like it or not, they are currently down,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Tehran began indirect talks on its nuclear program with US President Donald Trump's administration earlier this month.
The two sides held a second round of nuclear talks last Saturday, with both sides indicating progress.
Trump, who abandoned the 2015 pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
In return, Tehran insists on lifting US sanctions in return for nuclear program restrictions.
Ball in E3’s Court
On his X account, Araghchi wrote that his country’s relations with the E3 have experienced ups and downs in recent history because “each side has its own narrative.”
He said placing blame is a futile exercise, and that what matters is that the status quo is lose-lose.
The FM noted that since last September in New York, he offered dialogue when he met E3 foreign ministers and indeed any other European counterpart.
“Instead of confrontation, I put forward cooperation not only on the nuclear issue, but in each and every other area of mutual interest & concern. They unfortunately chose the hard way,” the Iranian official said.
“I once again propose diplomacy. After my recent consultations in Moscow & Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin & London ... The ball is now in the E3's court,” Araghchi said.
He concluded his post by noting that the E3 have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path. “How we act at this critical junction is likely to define the foreseeable future,” he said.
EU-US Coordination
When asked about Araghchi’s comments, France's foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said the E3 favored dialogue but wanted to see how serious Iran was.
“The only solution is a diplomatic solution, and Iran must resolutely engage in this path and it's a proposal the E3 have put forward many times, so we will continue dialogue with the Iranians,” he told a news conference.
The United States did not tell European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before Trump announced them, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran.
However, according to two European diplomats, the US lead technical negotiator Michael Anton briefed E3 diplomats in Paris on April 17, suggesting that coordination has improved, according to Reuters.
Rubio’s Warnings
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran will have to stop enriching uranium under any deal with the United States and could only import what is needed for a civilian nuclear program.
However, Iran has already made clear that its right to enrich uranium is not negotiable. When asked about Rubio's comments, a senior Iranian official, close to Iran's negotiating team, again said on Wednesday “zero enrichment is unacceptable,” according to Reuters.
“There's a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program if they want one,” Rubio told the “Honestly with Bari Weiss” podcast on Tuesday.
“But if they insist on enriching, then they will be the only country in the world that doesn't have a 'weapons program,' ... but is enriching. And so I think that's problematic,” he said.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff last week said Iran does not need to enrich past 3.67% - a remark that raised questions as to whether Washington still wanted Tehran to dismantle its enrichment program.
Witkoff, initially suggested the US was open to allowing Iran to continue low-level uranium enrichment.
Many American conservatives and Israel, which wants Iran’s nuclear facilities destroyed, objected.
Witkoff issued what the Trump administration described as a clarification, saying, “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
On Tuesday, Rubio said that Witkoff was initially talking about “the level of enriched material that they would be allowed to import from outside, like multiple countries around the world do for their peaceful civil nuclear programs.”
“If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one, and that is they import enriched material,” he said.
Last week, Rubio urged European countries to swiftly make a significant decision regarding the reimposition of sanctions against Iran ahead of negotiations in Rome between US and Iranian representatives.
He warned that Europeans should anticipate receiving a report from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) indicating that Iran is not only non-compliant but dangerously close to developing a nuclear weapon.
Relations between Iran and the European troika have deteriorated after the E3 activated a resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, criticizing Iran for “failing to cooperate fully” with the UN nuclear agency and urging Tehran to address concerns regarding uranium particles allegedly found at two nuclear sites in the country.
Last week, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Tehran where he discussed with Iranian officials means to resolve outstanding disputes. He then headed to Washington in an attempt to hold talks with US officials.
On Wednesday, Grossi said Iran has agreed to let in an International Atomic Energy Agency technical team in the coming days to discuss restoring camera surveillance at nuclear sites.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said the move was not directly linked to the US talks. But Grossi called it an encouraging sign of Iran’s willingness to reach terms in a potential deal.
On Wednesday, he urged Iran to explain tunnels built around a nuclear site but voiced optimism that US-Iran talks would land a deal.
The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank, released satellite imagery that it said showed a new, deeply buried tunnel alongside an older one around the Natanz site, as well as a new security perimeter.
“I've been raising this issue repeatedly, and I will continue to do so,” Grossi told reporters on a visit to Washington.
