Europeans make diplomatic push amid deteriorating relations with Iran
As relations between the EU and Tehran hit a historic low, European officials met with their Iranian counterparts this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Outgoing European Council President Charles Michel met on Monday (23 September) with Iran’s new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the state of EU-Iran relations, which an EU official described as being “at its lowest point ever.”
Pezeshkian became the president after his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a plane crash earlier in May. Since then, he has attempted to portray himself as a moderate counterpart.
“Reiterated EU’s concerns: delivery of weapons to Russia, destabilising the region through proxies, detained EU citizens, nuclear program and human rights situation,” Michel said.
“Also underlined the importance of engagement and dialogue to avoid escalation,” he added.
The push comes against the backdrop of Western officials earlier this month having warned that Iran has sent ballistic missiles to Russia for the first time, despite repeated warnings against such action. Tehran has denied the allegations.
In response to the reported transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, the EU said it had presented the bloc’s member states with options to take “a substantial set of decisive and targeted measures” against Tehran.
Since taking office, Pezeshkian has attempted to distance himself from last week’s missile transfer to Russia.
The new Iranian leader also said that Tehran was “willing to sit down with the Europeans and the Americans to have a dialogue and negotiations” amid allegations that Iran supplies Russia with missiles.
The encounter came as European and Iranian officials met over the past few days to discuss issues related to nuclear matters and Western sanctions against the country.
Western officials, however, stress that they do not see any prospect of talks over lifting sanctions on the country any time soon, especially not until the November US elections.
“Iran is prepared to do its part in good faith [and] address issues of mutual interest and concern via respectful diplomacy,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi said after talks with his European counterparts.
EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, told reporters on Monday evening that he would likely meet with his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
“We have to keep lines of communication open,” Borrell said, adding that this would be also because there was a new Iranian leadership. “That’s [also] why my political director attended the inauguration.”
Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary-general of the bloc’s diplomatic service (EEAS) and coordinator for negotiations with Iran, was criticised in August for attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president.
Mora’s visit to Tehran had sparked outrage among EU diplomats, especially in light of Iranian weapons supplies to Ukraine, which many had labelled as inappropriate.
EU member states had opted to send their Tehran-based representatives to the event rather than dispatching their foreign ministers or high-level officials.
The European Commission had defended Mora’s presence, saying it served to “convey EU positions on all the issues of concern.”
In New York, Pezeshkian was seen as unlikely to score meetings with any significant European leaders or US President Biden.
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