TEHRAN: Iran will hold a fresh round of nuclear talks with European powers in Turkiye later this week, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The talks with Britain, France and Germany would be held in Istanbul on Friday, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. French diplomatic sources gave the same information, but there was still no word from Berlin or London on the meeting, which was originally slated for earlier this month but postponed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would be held “at the level of deputy foreign ministers”.

The European nations — known as the E3 — were among the world powers that negotiated the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal along with China, Russia and the United States. Donald Trump, in his first term as president, effectively torpedoed the accord in 2018 by unilaterally withdrawing the United States.

“While we continue the dialogue with the United States, we are also ready to talk with the Europeans,” Araghchi said. “Unfortunately, the Europeans themselves have become somewhat isolated in these negotiations with their own policies,” he added, without elaborating. “We do not want such a situation and that’s why we have continued our negotiations with them,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud also on Wednesday expressed that the Kingdom fully supports the US-Iran nuclear talks and hopes for positive results.

Friday’s meeting will follow the latest round of Oman-mediated Iran-US talks on Sunday, which Tehran described as “difficult but useful” while a US official said Washington was “encouraged.”

Meanwhile, Trump on Tuesday criticised Iran’s leadership, regional role, alleged mismanagement, and threatened to slash its oil exports if nuclear talks fail. “Iran’s leaders have focused on stealing their people’s wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad,” said Trump at a Saudi investment forum.

He reiterated his willingness to “make a deal with Iran” but threatened to impose “massive maximum pressure”, including driving Iranian oil exports to zero if talks failed. Araghchi dismissed the remarks as a “very deceptive view” of Iran and blamed US sanctions, pressure and both military and non-military threats for hindering the country’s progress.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2025