The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell declared on Monday
"reasonably optimistic"
on the possibility of a relaunch of negotiations to save the Iranian nuclear agreement after the agreement reached with Tehran to allow the continuation of the inspections carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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"The temporary agreement reached between Iran and the IAEA allows the agency to ensure a sufficient level of surveillance and control during the coming months and offers a chance to relaunch the diplomatic process
," he said. declared after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Iran has stopped honoring its nuclear commitments after Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal in 2018 from the United States from the Vienna agreement and the reinstatement of American sanctions that are suffocating the Iranian economy.
Josep Borrell, who coordinates the joint commission of the JCPOA (the joint comprehensive action plan), hopes to bring all the players together around the negotiating table.
"Intense diplomatic contacts are underway, including with the United States,"
he announced.
The nuclear deal with Iran was one of the topics of discussions on Monday with US Secretary of State Antony Bliken during a videoconference with his EU counterparts meeting in Brussels.
“I am reasonably optimistic, but I cannot guarantee a result at this stage,”
said Josep Borrell, who did not wish to go into details of the discussions.
Lifting of sanctions
The agreement signed by Tehran in Vienna in 2015 with the great powers (United States, China, Russia, Germany, France, United Kingdom) as well as the EU aims to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring the atomic bomb, with strict limits to its nuclear program supposed to remain exclusively civilian and peaceful.
The international community had in return lifted all its economic sanctions against Iran.
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US President Joe Biden has promised to join this agreement again, but on the condition that Tehran first reverts to respecting the commitments it has begun to break away from in response to the United States' sanctions under Donald Trump.