Talks between top European officials and Iranian representatives focused on ending the current war with Israel and preventing possible supporting U.S. airstrikes broke down in the face of Iran's refusal to negotiate and escalating demands.

The EU team, headed by diplomats from France, Germany, and the UK, told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that a prerequisite to moving forward was a commitment by Iran to stop enriching uranium. Araghchi demanded that Israel stop all offensive action before any negotiations could take place and said that ceasing uranium enrichment is off the table. “Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again, once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,” Araghchi said..

The EU effort was billed as a last-ditch effort to bring the war to a close. It takes place in the context of increasing pressure on President Trump to ignore the reflexive isolationists in his administration and use the opportunity afforded by Israel's air campaign to demolish Iran's nuclear infrastructure. President Trump has set a two-week deadline for his decision to intervene in the conflict; see Breaking: WH Says Trump Will Decide on Iran Action in Next 2 Weeks, Clarifies What a Deal Would Look Like, That window of opportunity was contingent upon "a substantial chance of negotiations, that they may or may not take place with Iran in the near future." After today, the "may not" option seems like a hands-down favorite.

Even as the talks, such as they were, were underway, Iran lobbed missiles at Israeli cities and Israel demolished the military office overseeing nuclear weapons research.

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