Iran and the E3 group of three European countries will hold talks in Rome on Friday, a day before the fourth round of nuclear negotiations with the US.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media on Wednesday the next round of talks with the US would be held in the Italian capital on Saturday. "We will also have a meeting with three European countries on Friday," he added, referring to the UK, France and Germany.
"I think that the role of the three European countries has diminished due to the wrong policies they have adopted, of course we do not want this," Mr Araghchi said, appearing to refer to their sanctions on Iran. "This is why we are ready to hold the next round of negotiations with them in Rome."
The talks are aimed at improving strained ties with the European nations at a time of high-stakes, indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US that began on April 12.
The long-time geopolitical foes have held three rounds of talks, mediated by Oman, the highest level of contact between the two sides in years.
The E3 – along with China and Russia – were parties to the 2015 nuclear deal that fell apart when Washington withdrew in 2018 during Donald Trump's first term as US president. Attempts to revive the deal were made in 2021 with talks in Vienna that ultimately failed under the Biden administration.
Since then, European countries have largely remained sidelined from the talks until recently. The second round was held in Rome, with the other two in Muscat.
France on Monday said that along with Germany and Britain, it "will not hesitate for a single second to reapply all the sanctions" scrapped a decade ago if European security is threatened by Iran's nuclear activities.
"Resorting to threats and economic blackmail is entirely unacceptable," Iran's mission to the UN said in a letter carried by the country's Isna news agency.
Mr Araghchi said: "We will continue our negotiations with the Europeans but the main negotiations are currently with the United States."
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
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Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
