Iran plans to hold talks about its disputed nuclear program with three European powers on November 29 in Geneva, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, days after the UN atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran.
Iran reacted to the resolution, which was proposed by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges — machines that enrich uranium.
Kyodo said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of US President-elect Donald Trump.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding that “Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks.”
A spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry directed questions to the countries named in the report.
The United States, Britain, France, and Germany on Saturday expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s plans to launch new centrifuges, urging Tehran to reengage with the UN nuclear watchdog.
“We expect Iran to reengage on the path of dialogue and cooperation with the agency,” the four nations said in a joint statement released by the US State Department.
“At the same time, technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past” and within the framework of agreements made by Tehran, said a joint statement from Iran’s foreign ministry and its atomic energy organization.
The resolution approved on Thursday requires the IAEA to now produce a “comprehensive and updated assessment” of Iran’s nuclear activities, which could eventually trigger a referral to the UN Security Council to consider more sanctions on Tehran.
It came on the heels of a confidential report last week in which the IAEA said Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
That report, seen by the AP on Tuesday, said that as of October 26, Iran had accumulated 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent, an increase of 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) since the last IAEA report in August. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said in his election campaign in September, “We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal.”