The next round of talks with European powers will take place a week before Trump returns to the White House.
The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and France, the United Kingdom and Germany will be held in Geneva in January, Iran's ISNA news agency reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
“New talks between Iran and three European countries will be held in Geneva on January 13,” Gharibabadi said on Wednesday.
Iran they discussed and three European powers over its nuclear program clashed in November. The talks, the first since the US presidential election, came after Tehran was angered by a resolution from Europe that condemned Iran for non-compliance with the United Nations nuclear weapons watchdog.
Tehran took action by informing a Director General of the IAEA that it plans to install uranium enrichment centrifuges at its enrichment facilities.
On December 17, three European countries accused Iran of expanding its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to “unprecedented levels” without “any common sense”. They also discussed the possibility of reinstating the sanctions imposed on Iran to stop it from developing its nuclear weapons program.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran was “accelerating” its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent pure, approaching the nearly 90 percent that is weapons-grade.
Tehran insists on its right to acquire nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has denied any desire to develop nuclear weapons.
In 2015, Iran reached an agreement with world powers, including the US, to freeze its nuclear program over concerns that the country could develop nuclear weapons.
But in 2018, the then administration of Donald Trump withdrew from Iran 2015 Nuclear Pact and the six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, which forced Tehran to violate nuclear restrictions, taking steps such as rebuilding enriched uranium stockpiles, cleaning them up and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up extraction.
Indirect negotiations between the administration of US President Joe Biden and Tehran to try to revive the agreement have failed, but Trump said during his election in September: “We have to make a deal, because the result is impossible. We have to make a deal.”
The January 13 hearing will take place a week before Trump returns to the White House.