BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday urged Iran to resume talks with the US over its nuclear programme as the conflict between Israel and the Islamic Republic escalates.
“We, the E3 states, remain ready to negotiate a solution,” Wadephul said, with reference to the European grouping of Britain, France, and Germany.
Wadephul said he had conveyed the message to his Iranian counterpart during a phone call on Monday, which he held alongside the French and British foreign ministers, as well as the European Union’s chief diplomat.
“Iran must now act urgently,” he said, calling for “verifiable and confidence-building measures”, such as a commitment from the government in Tehran not to pursue nuclear weapons capabilities.
“It is never too late to come to the negotiating table if you come with honest intentions,” Wadephul said in a press conference alongside the Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
Jordanian Foreign Minister, on the occasion, said ‘we agreed with Germany on a joint effort to de-escalate the situation in the region.’
However, he rejected Israel’s aggression against Iran as a clear breach of international law.
“War will only push the region to abyss of more conflict,” he warned.
Iran and Israel said on Wednesday they carried out strikes on various targets on each other’s territories as the foes traded attacks for a sixth straight day.
The development unfolds as the region anxiously braces for a potentially wider and ruinous conflict.
Early on Wednesday, the Israeli military said new waves of missiles had been launched from Iran. Israeli media outlets reported that the latest salvos triggered sirens across the entire country, including the Tel Aviv area, where explosions and fires were reported.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have used first-generation Fateh missiles during its early Wednesday morning attacks on Israel, according to an IRGC statement shared across Iranian media.
The attacks, according to the IRGC, showed that Iran had “gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territory.”
