Dialogue window call

The European Union has thrown its support behind French-led efforts to engineer US-Iran talks and seize upon the momentum emanating from the G7 summit. But Brussels was insistent Iran needed to abide by the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and reiterated it remained the only way forward in the face of US opposition.

Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif was at G7 talks in France earlier this week on the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron. Talks between US President Donald Trump and his opposite Iranian number Hassan Rouhani have been proposed. Mr Trump, who pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal last year and re-enacted sanctions on Iran appeared open to the meeting although support in Tehran has been lukewarm amid a hardliner backlash.

Iran breached certain limits on its nuclear production imposed by the accord and has threatened to go further if its ailing economy is not supported. According to a quarterly report by the UN atomic watchdog shared on Friday Iran continues to enrich uranium to 4.5 per cent, above the 3.67pc allowed. “Any development that goes in the direction of talks, contacts channels that open up and diplomacy is welcomed and supported by the European Union,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.