The deadlock in talks to salvage the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran is broken. This was announced by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who also mediates for the United States, after meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister. The talks had stalled after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The foreign minister stressed that the most “important thing for Iran is Iran’s economic benefit” and once again asked the United States “to act realistically and fairly to reach a final agreement.”
For his part, Josep Borrell has indicated that the indirect talks will soon be held in a country in the Persian Gulf, and not in Vienna as before.
The 2015 deal was struck between Iran and world powers, including the US, to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
But in 2018, former US President Trump pulled his country out of the deal and reimposed sanctions. Since then, Iran has accelerated its nuclear activities, violating the limits of the agreement.
The head of European diplomacy also stated that the bilateral relations between the EU and Iran have “enormous potential”, but “without a functional JCPOA we cannot fully develop them”.
In this sense, Borrell made a reference to the possible collaboration in energy matters with Iran.
“I am convinced that (Iran) has enormous power in many fields, starting with trade, including oil and gas,” Borrell said.
“But for this we need a full implementation of the JCPOA,” he stressed.
The European Union coordinates talks in Vienna between Iran and Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and the United States indirectly, to save the 2015 nuclear agreement, which limited the Iranian atomic program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump abandoned it and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded a year later by ramping up its nuclear efforts and enriching uranium.
Iran is insisting that the United States lift sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards, something Washington appears unwilling to do.
In recent weeks, tensions have increased over the Iranian nuclear program after the resolution approved by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran for its lack of transparency.
Tehran responded by shutting down 27 surveillance cameras at different nuclear facilities, key to being able to verify the progress of Iran’s nuclear program.
The IAEA has warned that in a few weeks it will not be able to reconstruct the evolution of the Iranian nuclear program.
Borrell’s visit to Tehran follows the one made this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who also discussed the nuclear deal, as well as energy cooperation with Iran, among other issues.
