Iran calls talks with E3 on lifting sanctions ‘constructive’; says dialogue ‘to continue’

Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs asserted the recent talks held with the three European countries, namely the United Kingdom, France, and Germany (E3), on the removal of illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic have been “constructive”.

News ID: 5776

Date: 14 January 2025 - 23:15

TABNAK, Jan 14: “The third round of Iran-E3 talks was held in Geneva. The talks were serious, frank, and constructive,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday.

He noted that during the Monday talks, the sides discussed certain details about the removal of anti-Iran sanctions as well as issues pertaining to the country’s nuclear program which are “needed” for an agreement.

“Sides concurred that negotiations should be resumed and to reach a deal, all parties should create and maintain the appropriate atmosphere,” Gharibabadi said, adding, “We agreed to continue our dialogue.”

The British, French and German foreign affairs representatives also hailed the talks as "serious, frank and constructive."

"Against a challenging context, we discussed concerns and reiterated our commitment to a diplomatic solution. We agreed to continue our dialogue," they said in a statement posted on their X accounts.

More talks are also scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

The Geneva meeting with the three European countries is a continuation of the September talks the trio on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York and the negotiations held in Geneva in November.

The two sides have been conducting on-again, off-again talks since 2021, three years after the United States, under Donald Trump, illegally and unilaterally left the 2015 historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, known as the JCPOA, and returned Washington’s unlawful sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The trio then failed to live up to their promise of bringing Washington back to the deal.

Reacting to the counter-party’s non-commitment to its obligations, Tehran initiated a set of retaliatory nuclear steps, including activating more advanced centrifuges.

Iran has been stepping up the measures in response to the other parties’ continued refusal to uphold their obligations under the nuclear deal.