EU trying to preserve JCPOA: Mogherini

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said the EU together with the international community will try to keep Iran nuclear deal.

Iran Press/Europe: “First and foremost, it is important for us to keep Iran fully compliant with its commitments under the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) – Iran nuclear deal,” Federica Mogherini said upon her arrival at the European Council, IRNA reported.

She added: “We will continue to work in this direction with our member-states and with the rest of the international community. This is the work "we are trying to do now".

Elaborating on EU's responsibility to diffuse tensions between the United States and Iran, Mogherini said: "I discussed this the day before yesterday in Washington D.C. with Secretary [of State, Mike] Pompeo. We agreed on the fact that it is not in the interest of anybody in the region and in the world to see a military escalation there.”

“The European Union will do all it can with its partners in the region and beyond to coordinate positions with the United States,” she noted. 

“We will try to do what we can to diffuse tensions, to open all channels of communication and to make sure that an escalation is avoided,” the EU top diplomat reiterated.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Wednesday that the joint commission meeting of Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is slated to be held in Vienna, on June 28.

The meeting is to be held with the attendance of deputy foreign ministers and managing directors of Iran, China, Germany, UK, France, and Russia, Abbas Mousavi said.

Earlier, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement on Monday that the visit to Iran of EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid is a token of the EU support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Secretary-General Schmid also used this opportunity to reiterate the EU's continued commitment to the JCPOA which is key to increasing stability and security in the Middle East and a crucial element of the global Non-Proliferation Treaty,” the statement said.

It added: “JCPOA has been working and delivering on its primary goal which is to ensure that Iran does not acquire material or equipment to develop a nuclear weapon.”

EEAS reiterated: “The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in 15 reports that Iran abides by its nuclear-related commitments.”

“In particular, Secretary-General discussed in Iran current EU efforts, together with other European partners, to enable the continuation of legitimate trade with Iran, making operational the Special Purpose Vehicle "SPV", the statement noted.

The special purpose vehicle (INSTEX) was adopted by foreign ministers of the European trio on the sidelines of a European Union summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest on January 1.

INSTEX has been registered at the address of France's Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris.

German banker Per Fischer has been appointed for six months long to run it.

104

Read More:

Mogherini: First transaction of INSTEX to be activated in weeks

EU supports JCPOA, wants rival powers to avoid any further escalation: Mogherini