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Britain, France and Germany are to hold talks with Iran’s foreign minister on Friday, in a last-ditch effort to avert an escalation of conflict in the Middle East and a possible US intervention.
The talks in Geneva, due to be attended by the foreign ministers of the three European countries, come in the shadow of warnings from US President Donald Trump that he could join Israel’s offensive against Iran.
“It’s better dealt with by way of negotiations than by way of conflict . . . The risk of escalation across the region is obvious,” UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday.
He added that the UK “completely” recognised Israel’s right to self-defence, “but the principle is that we need to de-escalate this”.
European capitals have been making contingency plans for the US entering the conflict, with tensions raised since Trump publicly acknowledged on Thursday he “may” enter the war.
The UK government confirmed that David Lammy, UK foreign secretary, would attend the talks in Geneva, after holding talks with Marco Rubio, his US counterpart, in Washington on Thursday.
The meeting in Geneva with Iran’s Abbas Araghchi is a revival of the “E3” format, under which Britain, France and Germany — the European signatories to a 2015 nuclear accord Tehran signed with world powers — have sought to resolve the country’s stand-off with the west.
The aim of the meeting would be to agree a framework to restart monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme, but with international monitors granted unfettered access to facilities. Another issue on the table will be whether Iran would be willing to make a commitment to cut its ballistic missile stockpile.
A crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme erupted after Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018. Tehran responded by expanding its nuclear activity and has been enriching uranium to levels close to weapons grade.
The Trump administration held five rounds of indirect talks with Iran before the diplomatic process was upended by Israel launching its strikes on Friday — days before a sixth round of negotiations was scheduled.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who opposed the diplomatic efforts — said he launched the war to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.
Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed that Araghchi will meet counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, the first high-level face-to-face diplomacy with Tehran since Israel launched its attacks on Iran.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told journalists on Thursday: “We have expressed our willingness to take part in negotiations aimed at securing from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear programme and its ballistic missile programme.”
He said: “Negotiation remains today the only way to achieve a lasting rollback of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme . . . That is why we are calling for a return to negotiations.”
The E3, which were heavily involved in efforts with the Biden administration to revive the 2015 accord, had been largely marginalised by Trump as he sought to pressure Iran into a new deal.
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