WANA (Jul 25) – A European diplomatic delegation arrived at the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul on Friday morning to hold consultations and negotiations with the Iranian side.

 

The Iranian delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Ministers Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi.

 

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, referring to Friday’s talks between Iran and the three European parties to the JCPOA, stated: “The world must understand that we will firmly and steadfastly defend the Iranian people’s rights to peaceful nuclear energy—particularly uranium enrichment.”

 

This is the second round of talks between Iran and the three European countries held in Istanbul. The meeting is taking place at the deputy foreign minister level.

 

Earlier, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry had confirmed the meeting, stating that it would be held in Istanbul and focus on sanctions relief and issues related to Iran’s nuclear program. He added that, “This time, we will certainly articulate our positions clearly.”

 

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, also commented on the upcoming negotiations with the European trio, emphasizing: “Our effort will be to see what common solutions we can reach in order to manage this situation.”

Journalists Gather Outside Iranian Consulate in Turkey / WANA News Agency

Journalists Gather Outside Iranian Consulate in Turkey / WANA News Agency

Gharibabadi’s Account of the Istanbul Talks

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister described the negotiations with European counterparts as “serious, frank, and detailed.”

 

Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for Legal and International Affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, who co-led the Iranian delegation in Istanbul alongside Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi, provided an account of the recent talks with European officials.

 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Gharibabadi wrote: “Dr. Takht-Ravanchi and I held serious, frank, and detailed discussions with the political directors of the three European countries and the European Union.”

 

The senior Iranian diplomat stated that the latest developments regarding sanctions relief and nuclear issues were reviewed and discussed.

 

He added: “We strongly criticized their stance on the recent aggressive war against our people and laid out our principled positions — including on the so-called snapback mechanism. Both sides came to the meeting with specific ideas, and various aspects were examined.”

 

Gharibabadi concluded: “It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue.”