Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy for the European Union, met with Iran’s top diplomat on Saturday after travelling to Tehran to discuss efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Three months after the discussions halted because of disagreements between Iran and the United States, Borrell’s unexpected visit, which began on Friday night in the Iranian capital, aims to restart them.
According to a tweet from Borrell, “diplomacy is the only way to get back to full execution of the deal and to reverse present tensions.”
According to the official news agency IRNA, Borrell met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the morning and was scheduled to speak with further government representatives later in the day.
Since 2018, when former US President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from the agreement and started slapping severe economic sanctions on America’s longtime foe, the Iran nuclear deal has been hanging by a thread.
As the wisest course of action with the Islamic Republic, the government of current US President Joe Biden has attempted to return to the deal.
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On the eve of his trip, Robert Malley, the US point man on Iran, “reiterated solid US resolve to come back to the deal” over dinner with Borrell, according to Enrique Mora, the EU’s coordinator for the negotiations.
Later, Malley posted on his official Twitter account, “We are dedicated to the route of constructive diplomacy, in conjunction with our European allies.”
The discussions, which started in April of last year, are intended to bring the United States back into the agreement, notably by removing sanctions, while ensuring that Iran complies fully with its nuclear obligations.
The talks broke down in March due to disagreements between Tehran and Washington, particularly over Iran’s demand that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be taken off the US list of foreign terrorist organisations.
A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said on Friday, “We are prepared to finalise this agreement and urge Iran to take this diplomatic chance to conclude now, while this is still feasible.
Joseph Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is greeted by Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) in Tehran.
Joseph Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is greeted by Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) in Tehran.
Iran is “serious” about achieving a deal, according to Amir-Abdollahian, who stated this on Thursday.
The “nuclear negotiations train has reached difficult stops as they near the end,” he said, adding that “I think we can reach the final point of the accord shortly with reality from the American side.”
Iran received a reprieve from sanctions under the 2015 nuclear agreement struck with six major powers (the US, Britain, China, France, and Germany) in exchange for guarantees that it could not create an atomic weapon.
Iran has consistently denied having nuclear weapons on hand.
Backing out of the agreement was still, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “the greatest strategy to address the nuclear problem faced by Iran.”
Blinken cautioned at the time that once the deal extended the “breakout period” past a year, Iran might still choose to create a nuclear weapon in “a matter of weeks.”
This month, the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution denouncing Iran for failing to effectively respond to the earlier discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three locations that Tehran had not disclosed to have housed nuclear activity.
Tehran announced on the same day, June 8, that it had turned off some IAEA cameras that had been watching over its nuclear sites.
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Later, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi stated that 27 cameras had been deactivated, with roughly 40 still in place.
He cautioned that unless the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspectors were granted access within three to four weeks, Iran’s decision may send a “fatal blow” to the discussions.
The outcome of the agreement may depend on Borrell’s visit, which will be his first to Tehran since February 2020.
Iran has frequently demanded assurances from the Biden administration that the Trump walkout won’t happen again during the Vienna discussions aimed at restoring the agreement.
