The foreign ministry of the Islamic Republic confirmed on Sunday that regime officials will engage in nuclear discussions mediated by the European Union with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Geneva on Friday.
Regime spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the deliberations will cover, “a range of regional and international issues, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed.”
This announcement comes after Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported, citing diplomatic sources, that President Masoud Pezeshkian seeks to resolve lingering concerns regarding his country’s atomic research program before the inauguration of former U.S. President Donald Trump on January 20.
The meetings will mark Pezeshkian’s first formal negotiations on the topic since assuming office in July following the unexpected death of his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, in a May helicopter crash.
The decision to proceed with these talks follows Tehran’s censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday, which criticized the theocracy for its lack of cooperation with the organization’s nuclear inspections. This action marked the second such reprimand this year, prompting the regime to announce further increases in its uranium enrichment activities.
Pezeshkian will likely prioritize lifting several nuclear-related sanctions imposed on his economy in 2018 by the Trump administration, along with recent penalties from Western governments for providing munitions to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Last week, The Associated Press revealed a recent IAEA summary showing the Islamic Republic now possesses more than 400 lbs. of uranium enriched to 60 percent, an amount just one technical step away from a level sufficient to create a nuclear weapon.
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