European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday for a ministerial discussion focusing on Iran, Laurence Norman of The Wall Street Journal said on X, citing a senior European Union diplomat.
The agenda "will span Tehran’s support for Russia, its nuclear advances, its arrest of European citizens among other issues," the reporter said.
"First @kajakallas move to tighten EU stance on Iran," he added, referring to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Norman cited the EU diplomat as saying the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will be one of five key topics discussed.
Last week, US lawmakers urged European leaders to reinstate strict United Nations sanctions on Iran, citing what they called Tehran’s continued violations of the 2015 nuclear deal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said US President Donald Trump favors diplomacy over war but is determined to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Last month, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution condemning Iran’s detention of European Union citizens, labelling the practice as “hostage diplomacy.”
The motion also called on the EU Council to take decisive action, including designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Earlier this week, Iran said it charged a British couple on a road trip with espionage, in the latest detention of Western citizens by Tehran.
The United Kingdom is one of the so-called E3 European countries involved in ongoing talks with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. Another, France, has protested Iran's continued detention of three of its nationals.
Iran said on Tuesday it seeks to more talks with Europe, according to foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, even as the prospect for negotiations with the United States dimmed.
