June 20, 2025

The military conflict between Israel and Iran entered a second week on Friday, with casualties and injuries continuing to grow. Amid the international calls for de-escalation, a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his counterparts from UK, France and Germany (E3) was held in Geneva on Friday, after the White House said that US President Donald Trump will decide within two weeks whether the US military will become directly involved in the conflict.

The meeting is the first high-level one since Israel attacked Iran a week ago. European diplomats confirmed the planned talks, which involves French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Al Jazeera reported. 

Prior to the meeting, an official from the E3 told Politico that the aim of resuming talks with Iran is to get a guarantee that Tehran will only use its nuclear program for civilian purposes. "That is exactly where we were with the negotiations … which have been thrown off track because of Israeli activity," the official said, per the Politico report. 

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