Express analysis | Europe takes advantage of Trump’s hesitation to try a diplomatic exit to the conflict with Iran
Europe is activated to seek a way to war between Israel and Iran and avoid the intervention of the United States in the conflict. The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom plan to meet this Friday in Geneva with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, a day after the US president, Donald Trump, was given “two weeks” to decide whether or not to attack the Tehran regime.
The German Minister Johann Wadephul, the Frenchman Jean-Noël Barrot and the British David Lammy must participate. The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas will also attend. Before seeing Araghchi, the four Europeans plan to arrange their position in a meeting in the German mission in Geneva. It is about promoting a dialogue resolution taking advantage of Trump’s hesitation between the diplomacy option to prevent Iran from being done with the atomic bomb, or the military to propitiate even a regime change.
“We are determined that I will never have a nuclear weapon. There is now an opportunity in the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” said British Lammy on Thursday. “Now is the time to end the serious scenes in the Middle East and avoid a regional escalation that would not benefit anyone.”
Expectations of success at the meeting are reduced. Europe, involved for years in efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear program, has tried to exert its influence on this conflict, without success until now.
Given the signs that Trump would be willing to talk to the Iranians, Minister Araghchi declared to his country’s television: “We will not negotiate with anyone about our missile program. No rational mind would accept to enter conversations about their own defense capabilities.”
In the same city where the meeting between the Europeans and the representative of Iran, the negotiations that in the summer of 2015 led to an agreement between the same three European powers (the so -called E3), Russia, USA, will go to stop the Iranian nuclear program. Donald Trump, after arriving at the White House in 2017, withdrew from that agreement, signed during the presidency of Barack Obama.
On Monday, in a conversation with their Iranian counterpart, the three European ministers and Kallas “reaffirmed Israel’s right to protect their safety and population, within respect for international law,” according to a European statement. The ministers and Kallas “reiterated their ancient concern regarding the Iranian nuclear program, which Iran has expanded beyond all credible civil justification and regarding the violation, by Iran, of their guarantee obligations.”
Europeans urged Iran to return to negotiations to respond to the concerns that the nuclear program raises. They also asked everywhere to “show moderation, refrain from any measure that leads to a new escalation in the region and resume the path of diplomacy.”
