Europe and Iran will try diplomacy as US weighs joining fight with Israel

VIENNA Austria AP Iran s foreign minister will meet in Geneva on Friday with counterparts from Germany France and the United Kingdom Iranian state media and European diplomats reported as Israeli airstrikes target his country s nuclear and military sites and Iran fires back Europe s push for diplomacy is in sharp contrast to messages from Washington with U S President Donald Trump openly weighing bombing Iran and calling for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian leadership Iran s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will trip to Geneva for the meetings Friday the state-run IRNA news agency broadcasted European diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential talks verified the meetings All sides must show restraint refrain from taking attempts which lead to further escalation in the region and return to diplomacy read a joint comment issued Wednesday by France Germany the U K and the EU The three European countries commonly referred to as the E played an significant role in the negotiations over the original nuclear deal with Iran But they have repeatedly threatened to reinstate sanctions that were lifted under the deal if Iran does not improve its cooperation with the U N nuclear watchdog The meeting in Geneva could also provide the three European nations and the EU with a unique opportunity to reach out to Iran in what is going to be the first face-to-face meeting between Western authorities and Tehran since the start of the conflict a week ago It s a timely moment for Europe to test the chances for a diplomatic fix and seek Iran s positions amid escalating rhetoric between the U S and Iran Lammy is flying to Washington on Thursday to meet U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio The U S may want to use the U K -controlled base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in a prospective strike on Iran s underground nuclear facility at Fordo but is not presumed to have requested to do so yet The EU will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting approach to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal declared Anouar El Anouni a spokesperson for the European Commission This is why an intense outreach activity involving all relevant sides is currently underway to preserve room for diplomacy and create the conditions for a negotiated approach to the Iranian nuclear issue Germany says there must be movement from Iran Germany s foreign minister has underlined European countries willingness to talk to Iran about a method to its nuclear operation but says there necessities to be movement from Tehran Johann Wadephul revealed Wednesday that the three European countries which were part of Iran s nuclear agreement still stand ready to negotiate on a key But he added Iran must now move urgently Iran must take confidence-building and verifiable measures for example in that the leadership in Tehran makes it credible that it is not striving for a nuclear weapon Germany s Chancellor Friedrich Merz also discussed the Israel-Iran conflict with Qatar s ruler ahead of the Geneva talks A announcement from the chancellor s office revealed he and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani agreed Thursday that the conflict must not expand to other countries in the region It added that they stressed that room must be maintained for diplomatic efforts and that Merz informed Al Thani about Friday s planned meeting in Geneva French Foreign Minister Jean-No l Barrot mentioned Thursday that France and Europeans partners are ready to resume negotiations with Iran Barrot did not confirm the Geneva meeting Iranian bureaucrats message was relatively clear there is a willingness to resume talks including with the United States provided that a ceasefire can be reached Barrot commented in a news conference in Paris On our side there is a willingness to resume negotiations provided that these negotiations can lead to lasting substantial measures backward by Iran regarding its nuclear operation its ballistic project and its sessions to destabilize the region Barrot revealed No U S delegates at the Geneva talks on Friday Trump has given increasingly pointed warnings about the U S joining Israel in striking at Tehran s nuclear initiative even as Iran s leader warned anew that the United States would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it attacks A U S official noted Wednesday there no plans for U S involvement in nuclear talks set between senior European diplomats and Iran in Geneva although that could change The official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications also noted that the Europeans have been wanting to play a role in the negotiations for months but have been held back by the U S That position the official explained may be changing as the hostilities intensify Israel asserts it launched its airstrike campaign last week to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon It came as Iran and the United States had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran s activity though Trump has declared Israel s campaign came after a -day window he set for the talks Iran s supreme leader rejected U S calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause irreparable damage to them Iran long has insisted its nuclear initiative was peaceful though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of The International Atomic Capacity Agency the United Nations nuclear watchdog was still conducting inspections though limited in the country U S intelligence agencies as well have revealed they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb