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Europeans’ meeting with Iranian foreign minister yields hope of more talks
Israel says it launched its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaks, during the 59th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday. (AP)
A meeting between Iran’s foreign minister and top European diplomats on Friday yielded hopes of further talks but no indication of any immediate concrete breakthrough, a week after the crisis centered in the Iranian nuclear program erupted into war between Israel and Tehran.
Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany, as well as the European Union’s foreign chief, emerged from talks at a Geneva hotel about 3 1/2 hours after talks with Iran’s Abbas Araghchi started.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict. “We leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that “we are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States.”
Lammy traveled to Geneva after meeting in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs.
He said Wednesday that he’ll decide within two weeks whether the US military will get directly involved in the war given the “substantial chance” for renewed negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
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Israel says it launched its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon.
Iran and the United States had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran’s program, though Trump has said Israel’s campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.
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