FM Araghchi says UK, France, Germany lost legitimacy for direct talks with Iran

The European trio, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, has lost its legitimacy to conduct direct negotiations with Iran.

According to Caliber.Az, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in response to a question from IRNA.

According to the minister, the three European countries mistakenly believed they possessed a new leverage tool to influence Iran. “They thought that the threat of using it would force Tehran to concede. However, when they implemented it, they saw the result: the situation did not change, and not a single problem was resolved. The only outcome was the weakening of the diplomatic path,” Araghchi noted.

He emphasised that diplomacy “never ends” and always retains its significance, but now the key question is “under what conditions, with which parties, and on what basis of balance” it will continue.

“Today, the situation is completely different from before. The European trio has clearly weakened its role in the diplomatic process and, in many respects, has lost its legitimacy for direct dialogue with Iran. In the future, Europe’s role in any negotiations aimed at diplomatic resolution will be significantly smaller than before,” added the Iranian foreign minister.