EU stresses need to maintain JCPOA to keep door open for talks with Iran

The European Union has once again reaffirmed the need to safeguard the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it keeps the door open for further talks with the country.

During her speech at the seventh EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the European bloc had new channels to engage with Iran over different developments thanks to the landmark agreement.

“Thanks to the nuclear deal, we now have new channels to engage, and engage even in a constructive manner,” on some regional issues, including the conflict in Yemen, she said.

She noted multilateral agreements that were “agreed and recognized by all and are endorsed and monitored by the relevant international organizations - just like our nuclear deal with Iran” could represent an “essential step” in the right direction toward non-proliferation in the long term.

“Dismantling the nuclear deal with Iran would not make us more secure, just like dismantling all multilateral frameworks for non-proliferation and disarmament can do no good,” she added.

Mogherini said, however, that any negotiations with Iran on other issues, including its missile program, would be “much more difficult” if the deal broke down.

The top EU diplomat also praised Iran for the “full” implementation of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as “verified 13 times by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”

Iran has said that its missile program is for self-defense and it will not compromise on it in any talks.

The Islamic Republic also says all its ballistic missile related activities are in full conformity with the relevant provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses the JCPOA.

PressTV-‘Iran missile program no breach of UN Resolution 2231’

Zarif once again rejected allegations by US officials that Iran’s missile program violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Read more:

• Iran says missile program defensive, non-negotiable
• Iran policies impervious to US sanctions: Zarif
• EU’s political support of JCPOA valuable, but not enough

Since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in May, Iran and other signatories to the deal, including the Europeans, have been trying to keep the nuclear deal up and running by ensuring that Tehran reaps its economic benefits.

Back on May 8, US President Donald Trump announced that he would abandon the JCPOA, reached between Iran and six world powers – the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany. He also announced that he would reinstate the sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the agreement.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

In August, Trump ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.

In addition to the Europeans, Russia and China, the non-EU parties to the deal, have also repudiated new US sanctions on Iran, pledging to maintain trade ties with Tehran.

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