Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday (1) asked the European Union to handle Tehran and Washington’s return to the nuclear deal, after a counterpoint on who should act first.
EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell could become “co-ordinator of a joint committee” to follow up on the 2015 deal and outline “actions the US and Iran need to take take, ”Zarif told CNN.
“Of course, there may be a mechanism to synchronize ‘the return of the two countries to the agreement’ or to coordinate what can be done,” he added.
The agreement, signed in 2015, between Tehran and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia -, in addition to Germany, imposed limits on the program. nuclear power, restricting it to civilian use, preventing the country from developing the atomic bomb, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
In 2018, after repeated threats, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal – which he deemed insufficient, regretting that he had not attacked Iran’s ballistic missile program or other “destabilizing” activities in the country. Middle East – and toughened US sanctions and adopted a policy of maximum pressure against Teran.
Newly installed US President Joe Biden has vowed to bring the country back to the deal, but on the condition that Tehran again complies with clauses it ignored in response to US sanctions.
For its part, Iran has so far demanded that the Biden government take the first step and lift sanctions first.