Iran To Tell Dutch, Austrian Foreign Ministers About EU Failure To Save JCPOA - Ministry

TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2020) Iran will stress the EU inability to prevent the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - known as the Iran nuclear deal - during the upcoming talks with the foreign ministers of Austria and the Netherlands, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

According to Mousavi, the Dutch and Austrian foreign ministers will visit Tehran next week.

"In the talks with the two European ministers, apart from examining the bilateral relations and the exchange of views about the major international and regional issues, the Islamic Republic of Iran's criticism of Europe's inaction on carrying out its commitments under the JCPOA as well as their (Europeans') passiveness in the face of the imposition of extraterritorial US law will be emphasized," Mousavi said on Wednesday, as quoted by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

He added that Iran would also point out that the security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz could be ensured only via collective efforts of the regional nations.

The Iran nuclear deal was undermined in May 2018 by the decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement and reinstate sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

In May 2019, Iran started to gradually reduce its commitments to maintain the peaceful nature of its nuclear program under the JCPOA. The government announced last month that it was discontinuing all remaining obligations under the deal, but said it would return to full compliance if sanctions were lifted. In the meantime, Tehran pledged to continue cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency.