China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, and the EU to discuss the salvation of the 2015 accord.
Rabat – Representatives from the nations that are still party to the Iran nuclear deal will meet on Sunday, July 28 in Vienna, to discuss to what extent the agreement can be salvaged, according to the European Union’s foreign policy service.
China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, and the EU representatives will “examine issues linked to the implementation of the [2015 nuclear accord] in all its aspects,” the EU statement said on Tuesday, July 23.
The urgent meeting in Austria’s capital, which will be chaired by the EU foreign policy service’s Secretary-General Helga Schmid, was requested by France, Germany, Britain, and Iran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian highlighted the need for diplomacy to de-escalate volatile tensions, which he has said previously could lead to “an accident.”
The accord, which is formally known as the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been pending since the United States withdrew from it in 2018 and imposed austere sanctions against Iran.
Uranium Enrichment
The 2015 deal scaled down Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But in May 2019, more than a year after the US withdrawal, Iran said it would disregard certain limits on the programme as they did not benefit the country.
Iran threatened additional measures if the remaining parties to the deal failed to protect Tehran from the US sanctions.
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Tehran has since exceeded the deal’s limits on its enriched uranium and heavy water stockpiles.
The 4-5% enrichment level the country reached is still well below the more than 90% required for a nuclear warhead.
Iran has yet to specify what other steps it may take and has repeatedly emphasized its actions can be reversed “within hours” if European partners deliver on commitments.
