ISTANBUL: Iran met European powers on Friday to discuss its nuclear negotiations with Washington, while US President Donald Trump issued a new threat unless the Iranians “move quickly” towards a deal.

The meeting in Istanbul followed remarks by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning of “irreversible” consequences if Britain, France and Germany move to reimpose United Nations sanctions that were lifted under a landmark 2015 agreement.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks in the Turkish city, said in a post on X: “We exchanged views and discussed the latest status of the indirect nuclear negotiations and the lifting of sanctions.”

Gharibabadi added that, if necessary, Tehran would meet again the E3 — the European parties to the 2015 deal along with China, Russia and the United States — to continue discussions, after several meetings since last year.

Trump had effectively torpedoed the deal during his first term, by unilaterally abandoning it in 2018 and reimposing sanctions on Iran’s banking sector and oil exports.

A year later, Iran responded by rolling back its own commitments under the deal, which provided relief from sanctions in return for UN-monitored restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Trump said that his administration had handed Iran a proposal for a new agreement, after four rounds of negotiations in recent weeks.

“They have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad is going to happen,” Trump said.

Araghchi later wrote on X that “Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly”.

He added that an agreement can be reached if Washington lifts sanctions and respects “our rights” , including to enrich uranium.

“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes,” Araghchi said.

The Iran-US talks mediated by Oman were the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington abandoned the nuclear accord.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025