EU and China reaffirm their commitment to JCPOA and economic and trade engagement with Iran

On the sidelines of Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his counterpart Federica Mogherini, the highest representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and free trade as well as Iran nuclear deal.  

China’s foreign ministry said that besides discussing trade, Wang and Mogherini also agreed to continue maintaining and implementing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which the US unilaterally withdrew from it in May. The two leaders said they agreed to strengthen cooperation and oppose unilateral sanctions, a reference to Washington’s decision to reimpose oil sanctions against Iran after Trump pulled out of the landmark agreement.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini then delivers address during the meeting between the European Union and Asean foreign ministers at the 51st Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, on Aug 3 , stressing that the EU is determined to continue - and even increase - legitimate economic and trade engagement with Iran despite the US' withdrawal from the nuclear pact.

"Iran is fulfilling all its nuclear-related commitments. If you manage to have, after 12 years of difficult multilateral negotiations, a deal that holds... you don't throw it away," she said, adding that the nuclear deal was a fundamental part of the global non-proliferation architecture and needed to be preserved.