The remaining parties in Iran’s nuclear deal met on Wednesday in Vienna to voice support for the nuclear deal.
The representatives of the EU, France, China, Germany, Russia, and the UK participated in the meeting. It was chaired by EU External Action Secretary-General Helga Maria Schmid and High Representative Josep Borrell.
This came a month after Brittan, France, and Germany blamed Iran for violating the agreed terms. The meeting cited concerns over the impact of Trump’s sanctions on Iran and his unilateral withdrawal from the deal.
All six nations called for a commitment to the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
The official EU statement said
Serious concerns were expressed regarding the implementation of Iran’s nuclear commitments under the agreement,”
It further added that
Participants also acknowledged that the re-imposition of US sanctions did not allow Iran to reap the full benefits arising from sanctions-lifting.”
After the meeting, Iran’s deputy foreign minister while talking to reporters said
We know that the Europeans are trying. We know that there is willingness, but the lack of ability is obvious.”
The EU countries and others have been trying to persuade Iran to come back into line with the deal even after US withdrawal. Iran took some steps in response to US sanctions and withdrawal, which led to repeated warnings from Germany, Britain, France.
Earlier, Donald Trump also advised the EU states to withdraw from the deal and work to secure a new deal.
Iran Nuclear Deal was considered a diplomatic hallmark of the Obama Administration, which Trump said was a bad deal. The EU has been trying to protect the deal, as they believe it is vital for International peace; US withdrawal without any backup plan has worsened the situation.
Tehran also said that It would no longer observe limits on the number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium. The breaches by Iran are contrary to the deal’s central aim, which concerns the EU and others.
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Economic concessions
Western powers feel the need that some economic concessions must be given to Iran because current sanctions have crippled its economy.
At a security conference in Munich, Iran’s FM Javad Zareef also pointed out that the country will move towards the deal if reasonable concessions are given.
But Iran has maintained that it will continue to work with International Atomic Energy Agency, which carries out regular and detailed inspections.
In a move to address Iran’s concerns, the EU has set up a mechanism to enable humanitarian trade with Iran. But Iran says it is adequate as no transactions have been made so far.
But Iran has said that it can reverse the breaches if sanctions are lifted, but Washington believes that its maximum pressure moves will force Iran towards a new deal.
Iran Nuclear Deal
The Iran Nuclear Deal was reached in 2015, after 20 months-long negotiations. Under the deal, all the parties, the European Union and P5+1 agreed to lift sanctions against Tehran in exchange for Iran dismantling its nuclear program.
In January 2016, after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cleared Iran’s nuclear program as peaceful. This ended all the UN and national sanctions on Iran.
The deal allows Iran to pursue peaceful nuclear projects for medial, commercial, and industrial use inline with international non-proliferation standards.
