Iran is calling for legal and political guarantees from the European signatories of the nuclear deal as they strive to come up with a package of cooperation with Tehran.
Concluding an emergency Joint Commission session following the US withdrawal from the deal, the remaining signatories sent a unified message endorsing the agreement.
The 9th meeting of commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was held in Vienna’s Cobourg Hotel nearly two weeks after US unilateral withdrawal from the deal.
In addition to Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minster for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his counterparts from Europe as well as China and Russia, the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano was also present in the meeting, chaired by Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minster for Political Affairs Abbas Araghchi said after the meeting that the remaining signatories to the nuclear deal including the UK, Germany and France were determined to preserve the deal after the US exit.
The head of the Iranian delegation went on to stress that Tehran needs to receive guarantees.
US President Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the JCPOA on 8 May, and vowed to reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose “the highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has said it would make a decision on its future role in the nuclear agreement in the coming weeks following negotiations with the other signatories to the deal.
EU powers have scrambled to save the JCPOA and protect their businesses in Iran, after re-imposition of US sanctions.