France, Germany Urge Iran to Return Speedily to Nuclear Deal Talks
Voice of America
BERLIN/PARIS - France and Germany on Wednesday urged Iran to return rapidly to nuclear negotiations, after a break in talks following Iranian elections in June, with Paris demanding an "immediate" restart amid Western concerns over Tehran's expanding atomic work.
France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in a telephone call it was urgent for Tehran to return to the talks, Le Drian's ministry said in a statement. A sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington was adjourned in June after hardliner Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iran's president. Raisi took office on August 5. Since April, Iran and six powers have tried to work out how Tehran and Washington can both return to compliance with the nuclear pact, which former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions on Tehran.FILE - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia attends a summit in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 15, 2024. FILE - Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam speaks in Kismayo, Aug. 22, 2019. FILE - Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni speaks in Garowe, Puntland state, northeastern Somalia, Jan. 25, 2024.
FILE - A family rides past a decoration in the shape of the national flags of China and Pakistan installed along a road ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Lahore, Pakistan, July 30, 2023. FILE - Volunteers transport the coffins of Chinese nationals from a hospital following a suicide attack in Besham city in the Shangla district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 26, 2024. FILE - Security officials work on the site of an explosion outside Karachi airport, Pakistan, Oct. 7, 2024. The attack, claimed by Pakistani Baloch separatists killed two Chinese nationals.