TEHRAN (AFP) — Nuclear talks scheduled for Tuesday between Iran and Britain, France and Germany will be held in Geneva, Iranian state media reported.
“On Tuesday, Iran and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with the European Union, will hold a new round of talks at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Geneva,” state television said on Monday.
The meeting will be the second since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in mid-June, during which the United States (US) carried out strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. The previous round of talks was held in Istanbul on 25 July.
It comes after Iran suspended cooperation with the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog following the war with Israel, with Tehran pointing to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
The unprecedented bombing by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed Tehran’s nuclear negotiations with Washington.
The European trio have threatened to trigger a “snapback mechanism” under the 2015 nuclear deal which would reimpose UN sanctions that were lifted under the agreement, unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors.
Iran disputes the legality of invoking the clause, accusing the Europeans of not honoring their commitments under the accord.
Britain, France and Germany, along with China, Russia and the US, reached an agreement with Iran in 2015 under a deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.
The deal provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied wanting to do.