The new foreign minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, called for a dialogue with the European Union in order to “solve the problems” among them, AFP reported, referring to a statement published after a telephone conversation late last night with the EU's high representative for foreign policy and security, Josep Borrell, quoted by BTA.
„The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the development of relations with the European Union in an environment based on mutual respect”, Aragchi said.
This statement comes a little more than a month after the election of the new Iranian president, the reformer Masoud Pezeshkian, who indicated that he was ready to start a “constructive dialogue” with European countries, but criticized them for not keeping their commitments on the issue of Tehran's nuclear program.
Relations between Iran and the EU have deteriorated in recent years following criticism of Tehran over its controversial nuclear program, its support for the Islamist movement “Hamas”, which is at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, and its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and human rights violations, noted France Press.
During his conversation with Borel, Aragchi said that for the development of relations, a “dialogue to solve the problems between the two countries and correct the bad policies of the European countries” is needed.
For his part, Borel wrote on the social network "X" that he discussed with his Iranian counterpart "prospects for renewing engagement on all matters of mutual interest".
Tehran and its regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen threatened Israel with reprisals after the death of the former head of “Hamas” Ismail Haniya in Tehran on July 31 after blaming Israeli forces for his murder.
Aragchi, who took office on Wednesday, is known for his openness to the West. As chief negotiator on the Iran team, he played a key role in concluding the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna in 2015, which was terminated three years later after the United States decided to withdraw from it. Negotiations to resume the agreement failed in the summer of 2022.