The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain are planning to hold nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday.
The ministers will first meet with the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, at the German consulate in Geneva before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, the source said.
The source clarified that the plan has been agreed with the United States.
Earlier this week, European foreign ministers issued a stern call to Araghchi, urging an immediate return to nuclear negotiations with the United States and a halt to escalating conflict with Israel.
According to a French diplomatic source, Araghchi informed the Europeans that while Tehran maintained its seriousness in diplomacy, its current "focus at this stage is, of course, to effectively... confront aggression."
The E3 nations - France, Britain, and Germany - signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, have been at the forefront of international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program. Last week, these powers successfully sponsored a resolution, approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors, declaring Iran in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
The recent IAEA resolution opens the door for European officials to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council later this summer if nuclear talks show no progress, a move separate from the "snapback mechanism" to reimpose UN sanctions before the 2015 accord expires on October 18. Diplomats indicate the E3 had considered an end-of-August deadline for initiating the snapback.
Araghchi recently issued a stark warning to European powers, cautioning that any move to trigger UN sanctions on Tehran could lead to a serious and potentially irreversible escalation in tensions.