The foreign ministers of the ‘Group of 70 (G7) countries have urged Iran to resume negotiations for a deal to address the country’s nuclear program in a joint statement on Monday. The statement said that they support the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which was announced by United States President Donald Trump, and have urged all the parties to avoid actions that could “further destabilize the region”.
The statement also reiterated in the context of the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran that the former “has a right to defend itself.”
“We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,” the group said.
The foreign ministers of the G7 nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - met on June 25 in The Hague and discussed Middle East tensions.
In the joint statement released on Monday, the G7 countries appreciated Qatar’s “important” role in facilitating the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and expressed “full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory.”
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‘Iran can never have nuclear weapons’
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Israel interested in normalising ties with Syria and Lebanon, says foreign minister
‘Iran can never have nuclear weapons’
{{/usCountry}}The statement reiterated the G7 nations’ stance that Iran “can never have nuclear weapons” and urged Iran from “reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities”.
“We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program,” the statement said.
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“In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors,” it added.
The group of some of the world’s most advanced economies also condemned calls in Iran for “the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi”.
“We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty,” said the joint statement.