The Third Round of 'High-Level' Negotiations Between Iran and Europe to be Held in Isfahan

The third round of negotiations known as 'high-level talks between Iran and the European Union' focusing on human rights and international issues such as Iraq and Syria will take place this week in the city of Isfahan. The first round of these 'high-level' talks was held in February 2016 in Tehran, and the second round took place in November of last year in Brussels, the capital of the European Union. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), in this round of negotiations, two deputy foreign ministers will participate: Abbas Araghchi from Iran and Helga Schmid from the EU. As reported by ISNA on Saturday, November 18, this round of negotiations will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week 'at the Isfahan nuclear center.' ISNA has titled the main theme of this round of talks as 'Nuclear Cooperation: Progress and Prospects.' This round of negotiations will be held with a focus on 'nuclear cooperation' at a time when, in late October, the U.S. President refrained from confirming Tehran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, casting the future of this agreement into uncertainty. The U.S. President, who has always been a staunch opponent of the nuclear deal with Iran, which was primarily architected by former President Barack Obama, ended several days of speculation on Friday, October 13, expressing doubts about Iran's compliance with this agreement. Mr. Trump stated that 'based on credible information available to him, he is unable to confirm Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement.' Following his announcement of non-confirmation of Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, the U.S. Congress has 60 days under the law to decide whether to continue the agreement or impose new sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, the Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday that the topics to be discussed in this round of talks include 'human rights, trade, financial and banking cooperation, the environment, combating drug trafficking, and international issues such as Iraq and Syria.' In addition to Helga Schmid, Deputy to Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, and Abbas Araghchi, Deputy to Mohammad Javad Zarif, Behrouz Kamalvandi, Deputy and Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, will also participate in these discussions. According to ISNA, the topic of 'high-level talks' between Iran and Europe was first raised during Federica Mogherini's visit to Iran in 2016. The Iranian Foreign Minister at that time stated that 'we have had discussions with the European Union in the past years,' and at one point these discussions were referred to as 'critical talks' and later recognized as 'comprehensive talks,' but from now on a new round of talks between Iran and the European Union will begin, referred to as 'high-level talks,' which will start at the deputy level and gradually continue at the ministerial level. A week earlier, the Tasnim News Agency reported that a 70-member delegation of EU officials and economic activists would travel to Tehran on November 20, with one of the topics of discussion being the establishment of an EU office in Iran. In this context, Mogherini emphasized the need for 'the implementation of all parts of the JCPOA' by all parties.