Europe, Iran foreign ministers meet in Geneva, testing water for nuclear talks

European foreign ministers met their Iranian counterpart on Friday hoping to test Tehran’s readiness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite there being scant prospect of Israel ceasing its attacks soon, diplomats said.

European ministers spoke in advance to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who signaled the US is open to direct talks even as it considers joining Israeli strikes intended to smash Tehran’s nuclear capacity, the sources said.

Washington did not confirm that, though broadcaster CNN quoted a US official saying President Donald Trump supported diplomacy by allies that could bring Iran closer to a deal.

“The Iranians can’t sit down with the Americans whereas we can,” said a European diplomat. “We will tell them to come back to the table to discuss the nuclear issue before the worst-case scenario, while raising our concerns over its ballistic missiles, support to Russia and detention of our citizens.”

The ministers from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, plus the European Union’s foreign policy chief, met separately in Geneva prior to talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that began mid-afternoon.

Tehran, under mounting pressure to agree tough curbs on its nuclear program to prevent the potential development of an atomic weapon, has repeatedly said it will not talk to the Trump government until Israeli attacks end.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Two European diplomats said the E3 did not believe that Israel would accept a ceasefire in the immediate term and that it would be difficult for Iran and the US to resume negotiations. That meant they would use Friday’s talks to test Iran’s appetite to begin negotiations with the E3 immediately.

The diplomats said the proposal would center on a parallel track in negotiations, initially without the US, on a new deal that would involve tougher inspections, also potentially even on its ballistic missile program, while allowing Iran some notional enrichment capacity.

Given the escalation in the conflict, the two sides would aim for a quick political framework to get concessions from Iran and a ceasefire before entering in-depth negotiations. A third European official said he was not optimistic as the E3 demands were quite extensive and Iran still had some strength.