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Iran has rejected an offer by the European Union to hold direct nuclear talks with the United States, senior diplomats said, risking further tensions between Tehran and Western capitals.
Two senior Western diplomats said Iran had ruled out attending a meeting in Europe for the time being, saying it wanted a guarantee first that the United States would lift some sanctions after the meeting.
The United States had said it would participate in the talks, which the EU hoped to host in the coming days. However, Washington had refused to grant sanctions relief before face-to-face negotiations with Iran took place.
Diplomats said Iran’s rejection had not dashed all hopes for direct negotiations in the coming months and that Tehran’s move could be an attempt to gain influence in future negotiations. These talks could still start before the Iranian New Year at the end of March.
Still, Iran’s move is likely to exacerbate tensions in the coming days.
A State Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
EU efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal from which the Trump administration withdrew and which Iran has subsequently violated are at stake. Both the Biden administration and Iran say want to restore the deal, but both sides were stuck in a debate on which should go first.
As this dispute escalates, France, the UK and Germany are working on a resolution they plan to present to the International Atomic Energy Agency board next week that would censor Iran for its recent steps to expand its nuclear activities and its failure to cooperate. with the agency’s investigation into its nuclear work.
Iran has warned that if the censorship move goes ahead, it could end a deal reached earlier this month with the IAEA that would allow most international inspections to continue. Iran had previously said it would drastically reduce inspectors’ access to its nuclear activities, but it downgraded that decision after IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Tehran.
If Iran followed through on this threat, it would significantly reduce international oversight of Iran’s nuclear work, a situation which Grossi said would undermine the agency’s ability to control Iran’s nuclear program. .
The Biden administration has said it wants to revert to the nuclear deal, but will not suspend its sanctions on Iran until Tehran rolls back the multiple measures it has taken to violate the nuclear deal. 2015.
European diplomats had warned that if Iran stayed away from the talks, which the EU hoped to hold next week, it could leave Tehran more diplomatically isolated. A senior European diplomat said Iran was afraid to return home empty-handed after a meeting with the United States, however, which could have sparked a backlash in Iran.
Write to Laurence Norman at [email protected] and Michael R. Gordon at [email protected]
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