WASHINGTON: The United Kingdom has called on Iran to strike a deal within the next two weeks to avoid a wider conflict in the Middle East as there is still time to reach a diplomatic solution.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy Thursday said that time is running out for diplomacy and urged Tehran to act quickly to help stop the fighting and reduce tensions in the region.
Lammy met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House, ahead of Friday’s talks in Geneva with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with his French, German and EU counterparts.
The diplomatic push comes as European countries call for de-escalation in the face of Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme — and as US President Donald Trump considers whether to join the strikes on Tehran.
“The situation in the Middle East remains perilous,” Lammy said in a statement issued by the UK embassy in Washington.
“We discussed how Iran must make a deal to avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” he said.
“Tomorrow, I will be heading to Geneva to meet with the Iranian foreign minister alongside my French, German and EU counterparts,” the British minister added.
“Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one.”
The US State Department said Lammy and Rubio had “agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”
European push for diplomacy
Araghchi earlier confirmed he would “meet with the European delegation in Geneva on Friday,” in a statement carried by Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The talks are set to include Lammy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Trump has said he is still weighing military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, as Israel continues air strikes and Tehran responds with missile attacks.
France, Germany, Britain and the European Union were all signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which Trump withdrew from during his first term in office.
The EU’s Kallas, in coordination with European powers, has insisted that diplomacy remains the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said European nations were planning to propose a negotiated solution to end the Iran-Israel conflict. He asked his foreign minister to work with “close partners” on such an initiative.
Barrot has remained in regular contact with his German and British counterparts since Israel launched its large-scale air strikes on Iran last Friday.
“We are ready to take part in negotiations aimed at obtaining from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes,” Barrot said.
Israel maintains that its air campaign is intended to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran has been enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still below the 90 percent required for a nuclear warhead. Tehran denies it is building nuclear weapons.
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