EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Iran this weekend, Iran's foreign ministry said Tuesday amid a thaw in Tehran's strained relations with the European bloc. Ashton is tasked with co-ordinating nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, which culminated in an elusive deal that was struck in November and put into force in January.
"Ms Ashton will arrive in Tehran on Saturday night," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. Ashton would represent the 28-strong European Union in talks with President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Her trip - which follows official visits by top diplomats from Italy, Sweden, Belgium and Spain - will take her to Isfahan on Monday, according to Iranian media.
European sources confirmed the trip, saying talks in Tehran would focus on international foreign policy issues of mutual concern. The last visit of an EU foreign policy chief to Tehran took place in 2008. A Tehran-based Western diplomat said revival of dialogue with Iran was high on Ashton's agenda, particularly on human rights issues, as well as regional developments and the proposed establishment of an EU mission.
According to Araqchi, Iran's nuclear work, which the West suspects of masking a military drive despite Tehran's denial, will also be discussed with Ashton. Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of world powers will resume talks at experts level in Vienna on Wednesday, ahead of a March 17 meeting of political directors in the Austrian capital. "In this round of expert-level talks, we will review the issues related to (uranium) enrichment as well as tackling the concerns about the Arak heavy water reactor," Araqchi said.
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