Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaks to the media after an Iran-EU nuclear meeting in Geneva on June 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
Tehran is ready to “consider diplomacy” again only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said following talks in Geneva with his European counterparts on Iran’s nuclear programme on Friday.
“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed… We support the continuation of discussion with Britain, France, Germany and the European Union and express our readiness to meet again in the near future,” Mr. Araghchi told reporters following the talks at a Geneva hotel.
European powers on Friday urged Iran to continue diplomacy with the U.S. to find a solution in the stand-off over its nuclear programme as Israel keeps up its bombardment of the Islamic Republic.
“The good result today is that we leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is ready to further discuss all the important questions,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a statement alongside his British, French and EU counterparts. “It is of great importance that the United States takes part in these negotiations and the solution,” he added.
The statement read by all four top diplomats in their native languages after the talks expressed hope for further progress but did not make any mention of a breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it carried out a fresh wave of attacks on Iran on Friday, targeting missile launchers in the southwest of the country.
At least 19 people were injured in the Israeli port city of Haifa as Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “This is a perilous moment, and it is hugely important that we don’t see regional escalation of this conflict.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there “can be no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem. Military operations can delay it but they cannot eliminate it”.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr. Barrot also warned: “It is illusory and dangerous to want to impose a regime change from the outside. It is up to the people to decide their own destiny.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said for her part: “Today the regional escalation benefits no-one. We must keep the discussions open.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said earlier that the Iranian delegation “emphasised that Iran has not left the negotiating table”.
Israel began its campaign on Friday last week, saying the operation was aimed at halting Tehran from obtaining an atomic bomb.
Published – June 21, 2025 12:43 am IST