Iran and France open door to nuclear talks amid US negotiations

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is ready to travel to Europe for talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
• France suggests European powers would also be ready for dialogue if Tehran demonstrated serious engagement.
• Tehran is keeping its options open by reaching out to European powers involved in the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that he was ready to travel to Europe for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, with France indicating that European powers would also be ready for dialogue if Tehran demonstrated serious engagement.

Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States, which resume in Oman on Saturday, following talks with Russia and China earlier this week. Its outreach to the European powers involved in the 2015 nuclear deal suggests that Tehran is keeping its options open.

Since September, Tehran and the three European powers, known as the E3, have held several rounds of discussions over their ties and the nuclear issue.

The most recent discussions in March were held at the technical level, focusing on the parameters of a future deal to secure a rollback of the nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

European diplomats said they were seeking a new meeting with Iran, although that seemed to be on hold when Tehran began indirect talks on its nuclear program with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this month.

Trump, who abandoned the 2015 pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it quickly reaches a new deal that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The third round of talks is set to take place on Saturday in Oman.

“Iran’s relations with the E3 … have experienced ups and downs in recent history. Like it or not, they are currently down,” Araqchi wrote on X.

“I once again propose diplomacy. After my recent consultations in Moscow & Beijing, I am ready to take the first step with visits to Paris, Berlin & London … The ball is now in the E3’s court.”

The European powers, concerned about their coordination with Washington, have seen their ties with Iran worsen over issues including its ballistic missile program, the detention of foreign citizens, and support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.