US, UK, French And German Leaders Discuss Iran Nuclear Issue To Revive 2015 Deal

JAKARTA - The leaders of the United States, Britain, France and Germany discussed efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the White House said in a statement Sunday.

"They discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and concerted efforts to prevent and limit Iran's destabilizing regional activities," the White House said of the four leaders' talks. .

However, the White House did not provide further details on Middle East issues from discussions attended by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The European Union and the United States last week said they were studying Iran's response to what the European Union called a "final proposal" to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

The deal aims to curb Iran's nuclear program, with the West providing relief from economic sanctions in return.

Failure in nuclear negotiations could increase the risk of a new regional war, with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran, which has long denied having such ambitions, has warned of a "devastating" response to any Israeli attack.

Last week, Iran looked forward to the flexibility of the United States to resolve three issues that are still under the spotlight of Tehran over the European Union's 'final' proposal on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.

"There are three issues that if resolved, we can reach an agreement in the coming days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, indicating Tehran's response would not be a final acceptance or rejection.

"We have told them that our red line must be respected. We have shown enough flexibility. We do not want to reach an agreement that after 40 days, two months or three months it fails to materialize on the pitch."

It is known that then-US President Donald Trump reneged on the nuclear deal reached before he took office in 2018.

He called it too soft on Iran, and reimposed tough US sanctions. That prompted Iran to start encroaching on its uranium enrichment limits.