TEHRAN – Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, and his French counterpart displayed no obvious bonhomie during their meeting in Paris this week. In fact, neither side published any footage or photos of the encounter. However, the diplomats are also not loath to repeat the meeting in the future.

Upon his arrival in Tehran, Araghchi said his trip to France was aimed at continuing consultations between the two countries in various bilateral, regional and nuclear areas as well as European domains such as Ukraine. 

In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting Organization (IRIB), the top Iranian diplomat said Tehran and Paris have differences of opinion on different issues, yet political negotiations have been ongoing all along. “With regards to bilateral issues, the issue of the freedom of Ms. Esfandiari has been among hot-button issues between us,” he said.

Iranian academic Mahdieh Esfandiari, recently released on parole, had been in detention in France for nearly eight months simply for supporting Palestinians and the Palestinian cause on social media. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office accused her of “glorifying terrorism”. Among her 2023 posts that resurfaced following her detention, some showed her demanding an end to the "Israeli massacre of children in Gaza”. The UN says Israel’s war on Gaza has killed or injured at least 50,000 children since October of 2023. 

As Tehran seeks Esfandiari’s repatriation, France is pushing for the return of two of its spies who remain detained in Iran. Analysts argue that French authorities arrested the Iranian professor to facilitate an exchange for their intelligence agents.

Iran’s nuclear issue also came up for discussion during the negotiations in Paris. “In our discussions about the nuclear issue, I outlined our country's positions,” Araghchi explained, adding, “Right now, a balanced and fair negotiation isn’t feasible because of the United States' approach.”

Iran held its last round of nuclear negotiations in April with Washington as the other party and Oman acting as go-between. The talks halted before their sixth scheduled round after the U.S. and Israel launched a 12-day bombing campaign against Iran on June 13, targeting nuclear sites as well as civilian and military infrastructure. Approximately 1,100 people were killed in the assaults, most of them civilians.

Despite what many Iranians view as Washington’s betrayal of diplomacy, Tehran says it remains willing to pursue negotiations. The U.S., however, has remained intransigent on its nuclear demands, insisting that Iran cease uranium enrichment and adding other non-starter conditions, including caps on Iranian missiles.  

Iran’s missile arsenal has long been one of its most important defenses against Israel and the United States. During the June war, Israeli and American calls for a ceasefire came after Iran’s extensive strikes in the occupied territories and its attack on the largest U.S. base in West Asia.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been open to negotiations, and we've never stepped away from the diplomatic process. However, negotiations have their own rules, and they can only happen or be successful if those rules are respected,” Araghchi stated. 

France’s Foreign Ministry provided its view of the meeting in a statement, saying that the talks between Araghchi and Jean-Noël Barrot involved calls for Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations. According to the statement, "The Minister recalled France’s steadfast commitment, alongside its European and American partners, to a diplomatic solution."

France, Germany, and the UK have been leading their own pressure campaign against Iran since the war ended. The E3 triggered a mechanism in August to reimpose pre-JCPOA UN sanctions against Iran and also assisted the U.S. in drafting an anti-Iran resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this month.

The three European countries were signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities. They, however, failed to take practical measures to save the deal after Washington withdrew in 2018 and reinstated sanctions. They also declined to condemn the U.S.-Israeli strikes in June, despite their sheer illegality under the UN Charter and IAEA mandates. 

Meanwhile, Europe has also been asking Iran to disclose the extent of damage to its targeted nuclear sites as well as the whereabouts of its stockpile of enriched uranium, without addressing Iranian concerns that such disclosures could prompt further attacks by Israel and the United States.