A German diplomatic source told Reuters that the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain intend to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqji on Friday in Geneva.
The source added that the ministers will first meet with the European Union’s foreign policy official, Kaya Calas, at the German consulate in Geneva before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister.
The European initiative comes amid fears of the escalation of conflict in the Middle East after Israel began to launch massive military strikes on Iran since last week, and Tehran responded with rocket waves on Israeli targets.
The talks, which the source stated that they are taking place in coordination with the United States, are aimed at persuading the Iranian side to provide conclusive guarantees that it will use its nuclear program for civil purposes only.
The source indicated that the talks will be followed by a dialogue at the expert level.
Israel says its goal is to eliminate Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, while Iran denies that its nuclear program is for military purposes.
German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz has shown his support for the Israeli attack and angered Tehran this week by saying that the Iranians had to calm the escalation or face a threat to greater destruction.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Johan Vadevol appealed to Iran’s leaders on Wednesday to reach a solution that includes guarantees on its nuclear program, and told them that “the time has not yet been missing to sit at the negotiating table.”