The official page of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on its social media accounts, on the evening of Saturday, that Abdel Aty made contacts with several of his counterparts from European countries (the Troika) “E3”, officials in Iran, the United States, and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency over the past few days. The ministry clarified in a statement that these contacts come within the framework of directives from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to support de-escalation efforts.
This was aimed at creating conditions to resume negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding the Iranian nuclear file, and to bring closer the viewpoints of the different concerned parties in order to reach a sustainable settlement that takes into account the interests of all parties and contributes to reducing escalation and creating a supportive climate for achieving regional security and stability.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement confirmed that these intensive contacts are part of continuous efforts made by Cairo, in coordination with the concerned parties, to reach understandings that contribute to bringing viewpoints closer and providing opportunities for diplomatic solutions and dialogue, and to reach a consensual settlement regarding the Iranian nuclear file.
The European “Troika” countries (France, Germany, Britain) sent a message to the UN Security Council last Thursday, stating that they have begun to apply the “snapback mechanism” to re-impose sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear program. The “Troika” countries said that “Iran did not comply with the terms of the nuclear agreement it concluded in 2015, to prevent the development of nuclear weapons,” while Iran accused the three countries of “selective positions and evasion of commitments.”
Meanwhile, Abbas Araghchi sent an official message to Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief and coordinator of the Joint Commission of the nuclear agreement, stating that “Europe has not fulfilled its commercial and economic commitments since the agreement was signed in 2015.”
