US, UK, Germany, France urge I ran to return to nuclear deal talks

Agencies | Rome

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The United States, Germany, France and Britain urged Iran on Saturday to resume compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal to "avoid a dangerous escalation".

Leaders of the four countries, who are hoping to persuade Tehran to stop enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels, said they wanted a negotiated solution.

The four leaders met to discuss Iran while in Rome to attend the G20 summit.

The 2015 nuclear deal unravelled after then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, prompting Iran to breach various limits on uranium enrichment.

"We are counting on a return of Iran to the negotiating table. But the clock is ticking. Uranium enrichment is occurring in Iran and this deeply concerns us," she said on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.

Talks between Iran and world powers aimed at salvaging the deal, which started in April, are slated to resume at the end of November, the Islamic Republic's top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday.

A senior U.S. administration official told reporters the meeting had been suggested by Merkel to allow leaders to review the issues ahead of the resumption of the talks.

"And so they talked about (...) how we can effectively shape the environment to give diplomacy the best chance of succeeding in the fastest possible timeframe to put a lid back on Iran's nuclear program," the official added.