Iran Press/ Iran News: Simon Coveney said: “I think there is a lot of skepticism and there is a lack of trust in terms of future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and that's why I am here to reassure people that the European Union and the E3 and -in my view the US- also is very committed making this agreement work in the future and I think we need to focus on the future and of course on the past.”
Speaking in an interview with IRNA, Coveney said: "The challenge now, I think, for senior politicians and decisions makers in the key countries involved is to find a way of building sufficient trust that can allow the negotiation to proceed and to allow the JCPOA to be rebuilt because of the damages that have been done in recent years."
"Ireland, my country, has a very strong and long record in advocating disarmament and that is why we have taken a direct role and interest in this issue and volunteered Ireland as a facilitator on the Security Council on this issue and that is why I am here for the first time in nearly 20 years an Irish foreign minister is visiting Tehran and I promise you we won't be waiting for 20 years again and I hope to be a visitor here much more often than that," he noted.
Irish Foreign Minister added, “Last week, the Irish government formally made the decision to reopen our embassy in Tehran. In 2012 Ireland closed a number of its embassies in the world because we had a very difficult economic recession and we had to make some difficult choices for financial reasons. We are now in a stronger position and the combination of Ireland being on the Security Council and therefore relevant to the foreign policy to this part of the world but also our willingness to expand our global diplomatic footprint has meant that we want to have a presence in this region and in this country.”
"Ireland is a strong supporter of JCPOA," Coveney said in a statement Friday night, adding: "Ireland, as a facilitator, is keen to have a close dialogue with all actors and encourages all parties to fully adhere to this agreement."
He added: "The trip will be an opportunity to discuss JCPOA and other key Middle East issues, many of which are on the Security Council's agenda."
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