Iran rejected an offer from the European Union to arrange direct nuclear talks with the US, senior diplomats say, risking new tensions between Tehran and Western capitals.
Two leading Western diplomats said Iran has provisionally ruled out attending a meeting in Europe, saying it first wanted a guarantee that the US would lift some sanctions after the meeting.
The US had said it would attend the talks the EU hoped for in the coming days. However, Washington had refused to provide relief before personal negotiations with Iran had taken place.
Diplomats said Iran’s rejection has not erased all hopes for direct negotiations in the coming months and that Tehran’s move could be an attempt to gain influence in future talks. Those talks could start at the end of March for the Iranian New Year.
Still, Iran’s decision is likely to worsen tensions in the coming days.
A State Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
At stake are efforts by the EU to revive the 2015 nuclear deal from which the Trump administration withdrew and whose borders Iran has crossed. Both the Biden governments and Iran say they want to restore the deal, but the two sides are hampered by a debate that needs to be decided first.
With that dispute fanned out, France, the UK and Germany are working on a resolution they plan to submit to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of directors next week, which would disapprove Iran for its recent steps to elaborate its nuclear activities. expand and lack cooperation. with the probe from the bureau to his nuclear work.
Iran has warned that if censure continues, it could end an agreement it struck with the IAEA earlier this month, allowing most international inspections to continue. Iran had previously said it would significantly limit inspectors’ access to its nuclear activities, but it scaled back that step after IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Tehran.
If Iran follows up on that threat, it would significantly reduce international oversight of Iran’s nuclear work, a situation Mr Grossi has said would affect the agency’s ability to control Iran’s nuclear program.
The Biden administration has said it wants to return to the nuclear deal, but will not suspend its sanctions against Iran until Tehran reverses the many steps it has taken to violate the 2015 nuclear deal.
European diplomats had warned that if Iran stays away from the talks the EU hoped to settle this week, it could leave Tehran more diplomatically isolated. However, a senior European diplomat said Iran was afraid of going home empty-handed after a meeting with the US, which could have sparked major backlash in Iran.
Write to Laurence Norman at [email protected] and Michael R. Gordon at [email protected]
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