EU foreign policy chief to do ‘everything possible’ to save Iran nuclear deal: EU official

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will do “everything possible” to bring Iran nuclear talks back on track and ensure full compliance with the treaty, an EU official said on Thursday.

“This is the interest and the role of the coordinator (of the Iran nuclear deal) to do everything he can in order to save this agreement,” Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson of the EU diplomatic service, told reporters at the European Commission’s daily news briefing.

He stressed that Borrell is committed “to make everything possible to bring the ongoing talks about the full compliance to a successful conclusion.”

Stano also underlined that the EU countries, the members of the treaty, and the entire international community want these efforts from the EU foreign policy chief as the coordinator since the agreement “is an important part of the non-proliferation architecture.”

Enrique Mora, the bloc’s chief negotiator and deputy secretary-general of the EU diplomatic service, is currently in Tehran holding talks with the Iranian deputy foreign minister and lead nuclear negotiator Bagheri Kani and other officials.

In a Twitter message published before his travel on Tuesday, he said he will “work on closing the remaining gaps” to ensure that negotiations continue.

According to Stano, Mora is also discussing other issues relevant to the EU-Iran bilateral relations.

The EU diplomacy has made significant efforts to get Iran and the US back to the negotiation table since the beginning of the conflict between the two countries.

Under EU chairmanship, representatives from Iran, China, Russia, France, the UK, and Germany has negotiated for months in the Austrian capital of Vienna to ensure full compliance and bring the US back to the deal.

The Iran nuclear deal -- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.

Under the agreement, Tehran has committed to limit its nuclear activity to civilian purposes and in return, world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

The US, under former President Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to stop complying with the nuclear deal.