Kallas meets Araghchi as US-Iran diplomatic contacts widen
The EU foreign policy chief's meeting with Iran's foreign minister comes alongside separate US-Iran contacts and a hardening of Iran's terms over Hormuz shipping.
Published
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss diplomatic prospects for easing the US-Iran standoff.
The meeting adds a new channel to a week of parallel contacts. Trump said a US official met Iran's delegation for three hours and called the meeting very productive, with another session scheduled soon. Steve Witkoff, the US envoy involved in the talks, said he feels very good right now. Iran's president was already in New York, and Arab mediators were pushing for a direct US-Iran meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The diplomacy is running against a harder Iranian line. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Iran hardened its terms for ending the standoff after a US deal collapsed. Iran's parliament committee has proposed a 20% fine for breaches of Hormuz transit rules, and Iran has said it will detain ships until a 20% Hormuz fee is paid, according to Fars news agency.
Kallas' engagement with Araghchi gives the talks another line of contact, consistent with the recent pickup in US-Iran communication that Trump has highlighted. It does not change the underlying picture. Trump has already signaled openness to a settlement, but Iran has hardened its conditions at the same time, and the gaps that matter, including the Hormuz fees and detained shipping, remain unresolved. For now this is a neutral addition to an active but uncertain negotiation.