G7 Urges Iran's Nuclear Program Negotiations To Continue

Iran's nuclear facility gate in Natanz. (Wikimedia Commons/Parsa 2au)

JAKARTA - Secretary of State Group 7 (G7) on Monday announced its support for the Iran-Israel ceasefire, urging further negotiations to reach an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran and the United States have been in a series of rounds of negotiations related to Tehran's nuclear program since April. It was carried out in an effort to revive the nuclear deal, after the two left the 2015 Nuclear Deal (JCPOA).

Tehran said its program was peaceful, while Israel and its allies said they wanted to make sure Iran could not make nuclear weapons.

"We call for the resumption of negotiations, which resulted in a comprehensive, verifiable and sustainable agreement discussing Iran's nuclear program," the G7 foreign ministers said.

Iran-US was supposed to hold a sixth round of negotiations in Oman on June 15, but it has not been realized after Israel launched an attack two days earlier. That was followed by a US bomber attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on June 21.

Iran responded to Israeli attacks by carrying out airstrikes on several areas, as well as attacking US military bases in Qatar.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between US allies, Israel and Iran to stop the war.

The Israeli-Iran conflict has raised concerns in an already tense region since the start of Israel's war with Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

G7 foreign ministers said they urged "all parties to avoid actions that could further disrupt regional stability."

The top G7 diplomats also criticized the threat to the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday, after Iran's hardline newspaper said IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi should be tried and executed as an Israeli agent.

Earlier, the UN's 35-member nuclear watchdog Board of Governors on June 12 stated that Iran had violated its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Separately, US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said talks between Washington and Tehran were "promised", with Washington hoping to reach a long-term peace agreement.

Israel is the only Middle Eastern country believed to have nuclear weapons.

Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while Israel is not. The UN nuclear watchdog, which conducts inspections in Iran, said it had no "credible indications" of an active coordinated weapons program in Iran.