The first negotiations held on Friday (20) in Geneva, Switzerland, between foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and the Iranian regime ended without agreement for an immediate ceasefire or advancement in the containment of the nuclear program of the Persian country.
The meeting, which was also accompanied by Kaja Kallas, head of the European Union Foreign Affairs (EU), exposed the impasse between the parties and made it evident that the Middle East crisis remains unresolved.
The European attempt to convince Iran to resume dialogue with Israel was frustrated by the requirement of Iranian Chancellor, Abbas Araye, which country ruled by Benjamin Netanyahu interrupted his attacks before any diplomatic rapprochement.
“I made it very clear that Iran’s defense capabilities are not negotiable,” Araghchi said after the meeting. The Iranian chancellor also conditioned future conversations at the end of what he called “Israeli aggression.”
On the European side, the tone was of caution and concern in the face of the possible escalation of the crisis. At a news conference, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul even recognized that “the good news today is that we left the room with the impression that the Iranian part is willing to follow dialoguing on all important issues.” However, in practice, this so-called Iranian provision bumps into the conditions imposed by Araye, which may actually make any immediate advance in negotiations by a ceasefire.
French Chancellor Jean-Noël Barrot and British David Lammy stressed that “the military way does not offer a permanent solution to the Iranian nuclear program problem,” but have insisted on the European commitment to Israel’s security.
At the meeting, as reported, the European authorities also demanded from Iran the resumption of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) and expressed concern about the current stage of the nuclear program of the Islamic country, noting that “it lacks a believable civil purpose.”
Despite recognizing the need to avoid regional escalation, European leaders have failed to convince Iran to make their positions more flexible. Araghchi maintained the self -defense speech and criticized the “lack of condemnation of Israel’s atrocious attacks” by Europeans, and reaffirmed that Iran’s nuclear program remains under international supervision.
The meeting, which took place under a strong climate of tension due to Israel’s military offensive against Iranian nuclear facilities, which began on the 13th, has so far ended without any new round of negotiations, although the European parts express desire to follow dialoguing with Iran.
Trump and Israel keep a hard line against Iran
While European efforts failed Geneva, the United States reinforced its support position to Israel and maintained distance from the attempts of mediation led by the European bloc this Friday.
President Donald Trump said in the afternoon that it would be “very difficult” to ask Israel to interrupt his attacks against Iran.
“It’s a little harder to do this if someone is winning. But we’re ready, arranged and capable. And we’ve been talking to Iran, let’s see what happens,” Trump told New Jersey journalists.
The US president ruled out Europeans’ performance in the diplomatic negotiation process, stating that “they didn’t help. Iran doesn’t want to talk to Europe. They want to talk to us. Europe will not be able to help this time.”
Trump indicated that he intends to decide in the next two weeks if the US will be militarily involved in the conflict, but made it clear that sending land troops is not currently being considered.
“The last one you want is terrestrial forces,” he said, recognizing that Israel has “limited ability” to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said she could not speculate about possible Trump government pressure for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, but reiterated that the president still has hope in a negotiated solution. She pointed out, however, that any Iranian attack on US interests will have “serious consequences.”
In the same vein, UN Ambassador Danny Danon was exhaustive on Friday by stating that “diplomacy only for diplomacy will not work” in this conflict and that there would only be advancement in conversations if Iran actually abandoned its nuclear program. For Danon, “Iranians have been masters of deceit for many years” and therefore there is no room for negotiations without verifiable commitments
