Saudi FM discusses Iran nuclear talks with EU envoy

The two officials discuss developments regarding the Iranian nuclear program talks, and international efforts to ensure that Iran does not violate international agreements and treaties.

CAIRO - Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud discussed the Iran nuclear talks with the European Union envoy coordinating talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, Enrique Mora, the Saudi Foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"They discussed developments regarding the Iranian nuclear program talks, and international efforts to ensure that Iran does not violate international agreements and treaties in this regard," it added in a statement.

Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Iran will meet British, French and German diplomats in Paris on Friday to discuss stalled efforts to get Iran to resume compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

While saying for weeks it would return to talks "soon," Iran has yet to announce a date to resume discussions in Vienna about reviving the pact under which it curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN economic sanctions.

Then-US President Donald Trump abandoned the pact in 2018 and reimposed harsh US sanctions. About a year later, Iran started violating some of the deal's limits on uranium enrichment. Enriching uranium can provide a path to obtain the fissile material for an atomic bomb, an ambition Iran denies.

The diplomatic sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley would meet with the political directors of the British, French and German foreign ministries, a group know as the E3, in Paris on Friday.

One of the sources said he hoped the meeting would provide some clarity on how world powers might act in the coming weeks if Iran continued to "buy time" and delay returning to Vienna. US officials have said time is running out to revive the deal.