Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Tehran- In the context of the ongoing efforts to conclude a nuclear agreement and confront the regional and international challenges associated with it, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ismail Baqai, announced – in a press statement two days ago – that a meeting between Iran and European Troika will be held today in Istanbul, Turkey.
He explained that this meeting will bring together political managers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the three European countries member in the 2015 nuclear agreement, namely Germany, Britain and France.
This meeting comes, according to my remaining, within the framework of the continuation of consultations and coordination between the parties concerned, as the main agenda will address the discussion of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, amid a complex international climate and accelerating developments on the political scene.
Europe
European Troika acquires a pivotal role in the Iranian nuclear file as a major party in the 2015 agreement. In this context, technical and political consultations are taking place with Iranian experts to assess the importance of the Istanbul meeting and the strategic connotations it holds, especially in light of negotiations in Muscat.
Observers wonder whether these moves indicate a new position of Troika, aimed at playing a more independent and effective role in bringing the views between Tehran and Washington, and providing an alternative negotiating ground that reflects a change in the accounts of the European parties towards the future of the agreement.
From the Iranian perspective, Tehran looks at European Troika as an important negotiating partner, but at the same time it remains cautious about its positions, given what it considers a “relative bias” of Europeans for American policies, especially after Washington withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018.
She believes that the continuation of coordination with it carries political and diplomatic importance, especially in light of the threats of the European parties to activate the trigger mechanism, which means returning all the previous penalties at once.
In the context, the professor of international relations, Jawad Hiran Nia, believes that the three European countries find themselves today on the sidelines of the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, after it was a major partner in the 2015 agreement negotiations. He assures Tel Aviv Tribune Net that this marginalization raises the concerns of Europeans that a bilateral agreement between Iran and the United States does not take into account their economic and strategic interests.
🟥 The Iranian Foreign Minister: That is, the exploitation of the “Snapback” mechanism that will have severe consequences
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr. Abbas Araqji, warned that the activation of the Snap Back mechanism to re -impose sanctions will lead to severe consequences, including ending the role of Europe in the nuclear agreement and a dangerous escalation in tensions. pic.twitter.com/stxdiei401
– Iran in Arabic (@iraninarabic_ir) May 12, 2025
Pressure
Hiran Niya notes that these countries seek to play an independent role in international politics, and they are not satisfied with their exclusion from sensitive files, whether in the Iranian nuclear file or in the Ukrainian war, which leads them to think seriously about activating the “trigger mechanism” before the end of the UN resolution 2231 in October.
In his opinion, the Europeans want to use this mechanism as a pressure card, not only on Iran, but also on Washington, to impose their political presence in formulating any new agreement, especially in light of their concerns that the prospective agreement will be temporary or universal.
He says that European concerns range from Tehran’s missile program, the file of European detainees, and the Iranian regional role, up to military cooperation between Iran and Moscow in the Ukraine war, which is what European capitals consider a direct prejudice to its national security.
According to the professor of international relations, Iran is aware of the risk of activating the trigger mechanism, especially since the re -imposition of international sanctions may be lost by important papers in negotiating with the United States, so it preferred to enter into a direct dialogue with the Europeans in an attempt to discourage them from this step, after I touched the limited impact of the Iranian demand on the American side to curb them.
He concludes by saying that activating the mechanism will be met – probably – a strong Iranian response, which may reach the point of withdrawing from the Nuclear Weapons Convention, which means the collapse of negotiations completely, adding, “But I do not think that things will reach this extent, as it seems that all parties are trying to use their tools to pressure without toppling the entire negotiating path.”
Attached diplomacy
For his part, political science professor Mustafa Najafi believes that Tehran is pursuing multi -dimensional diplomacy in parallel with its direct and indirect negotiations with the United States, as it recently intensified its meetings with European Troika at the level of deputies of foreign ministers.
Najafi explained to Al -Jazeera Net that the upcoming meeting today, which was scheduled to be held previously in the Italian capital, Rome, before being canceled due to the suspension of Iranian -American talks, comes in the context of efforts to reduce tension with Europe and interact with the remaining members in the nuclear agreement, and prevent the activation of the trigger mechanism by Europeans.
He added that Iranian policy is based on distinguishing between its position on Washington and the rest of the agreement, as Tehran continues its communication with Moscow and Beijing on the one hand, and with London, Paris and Berlin on the other hand, in an attempt to preserve the remainder of the agreement. It also connects the nuclear and regional diplomacy by enhancing its communication with the Gulf neighboring countries, including opening channels for coordination and mediation.
According to Najafi, the features of Iranian nuclear diplomacy are clear, and can be summarized in 4 main axes:
- Negotiating with Washington.
- Cooperation with Russia and China.
- Reducing escalation with Europe.
- Building confidence with the Gulf states and using their regional weight as a mediation tool.
