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 said, 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 travel to Geneva for the meetings Friday, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. European diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential talks, confirmed the meetings.

“All sides must show restraint, refrain from taking steps which lead to further escalation in the region, and return to diplomacy,” read a joint statement issued Wednesday by France, Germany, the U.K. and the EU.

The three European countries, commonly referred to as the E3, played an important role in the negotiations over the original 2015 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 with a unique opportunity to reach out to Iran in what is going to be the first face-to-face meeting between Western officials and Tehran since the start of the conflict a week ago.

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 potential strike on Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordo but is not believed 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 solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, which can only be through a negotiated deal,” said 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 solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.”

Germany’s foreign minister has underlined European countries’ willingness to talk to Iran about a solution to its nuclear program, but says there needs to be movement from Tehran.

Johann Wadephul said Wednesday that the three European countries, which were part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement, “still stand ready to negotiate on a solution.”

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.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Thursday that France and Europeans partners are ready to “resume negotiations” with Iran. Barrot did not confirm the Geneva meeting.

Iranian authorities’ message was “relatively clear: there is a willingness to resume talks, including with the United States, provided that a ceasefire can be reached,” Barrot said 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 steps backward by Iran regarding its nuclear program, its ballistic program and its activities to destabilize the region,” Barrot said.

Trump has given increasingly pointed warnings about the U.S. joining Israel in striking at Tehran’s nuclear program even as Iran’s leader warned anew that the United States would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it attacks.

A U.S. official said 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 said, 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 program, though Trump has said Israel’s campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks. Iran’s supreme leader rejectedU.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 program was peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, was still conducting inspections, though limited, in the country. U.S. intelligence agencies as well have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb.