London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Iran nuclear deal: UK urges Iran to back plan to revive agreement

Iran nuclear deal: UK urges Iran to back plan to revive agreement

The UK has urged Iran to back a deal that would revive the international agreement curbing the country's nuclear activities, at a meeting in London.

Under the original 2015 deal, Iran said it would curb its nuclear ambitions in return for other countries lifting economic sanctions.

The agreement collapsed when the US pulled out in 2018, but President Joe Biden has said it could rejoin.

Talks are set to resume in Vienna on 29 November after a four-month hiatus.

Ahead of those talks, Iran's deputy foreign minister and lead negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, came to the UK Foreign Office to set out his country's demands.

At the meeting, Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly told his counterpart that Iran should take the opportunity of the new talks to conclude a deal that he said was already on table.

The Iranians said merely the nuclear deal was discussed, without noting any specifics.

They want the focus of the Vienna negotiations to be on lifting sanctions, and getting guarantees from the United States that it will not pull out of the deal again.

But Western countries want the talks to pick up where they left off in June, including on how to tackle Iran's growing stockpile of enriched uranium.


The potential deal being discussed in June centred on lifting sanctions against Iran, while also curbing its nuclear programme.

What was still to be agreed was which sanctions, which nuclear activities, in what order and when.

Today's meetings at the Foreign Office were a chance for Iran to set out its stall ahead of crucial talks later this month.

There is not a huge upswelling of optimism that these new talks in Vienna will succeed.

Iran has a new hardline government since the election of new president Ebrahim Raisi.

Joe Biden is under political pressure in the United States not to concede too much.

And the more time passes, the value of resuming the nuclear deal diminishes - because it contains many time limited provisions.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful. But there are suspicions, particularly in Israel, that the country wants to develop a nuclear bomb.

Israel opposes the deal, and earlier it warned it was "speeding up its plans" to deal with what it called "Iran's nuclear threat".

Hostilities between the two countries have escalated recently, with Iran blaming Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist last year and an attack on one of its uranium enrichment plants in April.

The UK government says Mr Cleverly also raised the case of British nationals detained by Iran with the country's deputy foreign minister, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The 43-year-old mother-of-one from London has been held in Iran for five years on spying charges, which she has always denied.

Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has been holding a hunger strike outside the Foreign Office for over a fortnight to put pressure on the government to do more to secure her release.

The Foreign Office says Mr Cleverly met Mr Ratcliffe on Thursday "to reaffirm our commitment" to reuniting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her family.

After the meeting, Mr Ratcliffe told reporters the meeting had been "depressing", and he didn't have "any hopes" of a breakthrough.

"I don't feel they moved forwards today," he added.

"It may be that there are parts of the conversation I am not privy to, and there are parts the minister shares down the line."


Watch: On hunger strike for my wife Nazanin


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×