Negotiations between Iran and the E3 states, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are planned for this week with no resolution in sight to the international dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The meeting is to take place on Friday in Istanbul at the level of deputy foreign ministers, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
Iran would be represented by two deputy foreign ministers Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi, who are also part of the nuclear negotiating team.
The Europeans are expected to exert more pressure on Tehran to make a deal, but no significant progress is expected at the Istanbul meeting.
The Vienna nuclear agreement, which is not being adhered to in practice formally expires in mid-October.
As co-signatories to the 2015 deal, the E3 states could apply to the UN Security Council for the reintroduction of previous sanctions.
The meeting in Turkey would be the first round of negotiations since a ceasefire came into force after Israel’s war against Iran, which mainly targeted Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.
Before the war, Tehran had spent around two months negotiating with the United States over its nuclear programme.
The aim of the negotiations is to find restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme that Tehran finds acceptable, and make sure Iran does not have the capability to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran, for its part, hopes that the talks would lead to the lifting of sanctions that are paralysing its economy.
Tehran has always insisted that its nuclear programme is exclusively for civilian use. (dpa/NAN)
