Iran to hold nuclear deal talks with France, Germany and UK

Iran is to hold talks with the UK, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday over its nuclear program.

The meeting comes with Donald Trump's return to the White House a matter of weeks away. During his first term as president, US-Iran relations deteriorated, as Washington increased sanctions on Tehran, and the nuclear deal that ensured Iran reduced its stockpile of uranium fell apart.

The UN's nuclear agency, the IAEA, confirmed that Iran plans to install around 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium, the French AFP news agency reported on Friday.

Friday's talks follow on from a meeting between the European nations and Iran in New York in September.

Iran slams 'self-centered' behavior

On Thursday, Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi and the European Union coordinator of nuclear talks, Enrique Mora, all met ahead of Friday's talks.

Mora posted on X, formerly Twitter, that they held a "frank exchange... on Iran's military support to Russia that has to stop, the nuclear issue that needs a diplomatic solution, regional tensions (important to avoid further escalation from all sides) and human rights."

After their meeting on Thursday, Gharibabadi said he and Takht-Ravanchi reiterated to Mora "that [the] EU should abandon its self-centered and irresponsible behavior" on a range of issues including the war in Ukraine and the Iran nuclear issue.

Gharibabadi added that the EU's "complicit behavior toward the ongoing genocide in Gaza" means the European bloc has no moral authority to "preach" on human rights.

Middle East tensions and Trump's reelection

Friday's meeting takes place amid extreme tension in the Middle East between Israel and Iran.

This week, a fragile ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon after the conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel dragged on for months, with Israel launching a ground operation in southern Lebanon in October.

Friday's meetings in Geneva, where world powers and Iran achieved a first breakthrough in nuclear talks more than a decade ago before reaching a deal in 2015, are the first since the US presidential election.

The talks will likely see if any momentum can be built ahead of Trump's January 20 inauguration.

jsi/zc (Reuters, AFP)