EU Vows Greater Efforts to Safeguard Nuclear Accord

The high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy once again stressed the importance of preserving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, pledging to work with other relevant parties to this end. 
"I discussed the #JCPOA on its 5th anniversary during the #med2020 dialogue organized by @ispionline. We need to preserve the #Irandeal and I will continue to work in my role as coordinator of the Joint Commission," Josep Borrell said in a post on his official Twitter page on Saturday, EEAS reported.
In his tweet, he provided a link of the full video of his virtual address to the annual Mediterranean Dialogues 2020 conference on July 14, concurrent with the fifth anniversary of the conclusion of JCPOA.  
"I am frankly convinced that we need to preserve this deal [because] there is no other effective alternative around the corner. The idea that we can build another deal and we call it "Trump deal", it is not possible, you know," Borrell said to the participants.
He pointed to the beginning of discussions in 2003, which led to the conclusion of JCPOA and said, "It took 12 years to break the differences and to cut a deal." 
"It was a big success for effective multilateralism and it has been a success because the JCPOA has delivered on its promises."
He highlighted that International Atomic Energy Agency had in "15 consecutive reports" confirmed that "Iran has met all their nuclear obligations until June 2019."

No Alternative 

Borrell emphasized that no administration, even in the United States, would be able to put on the table a peaceful alternative to JCPOA.
The historic deal was reached between Iran and a group of countries known as P5+1, which included the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, plus Germany, on July 14, 2015. However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of JCPOA and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the deal.
According to IAEA, Iran remained fully compliant with JCPOA for an entire year, waiting for the co-signatories to honor their commitments and offset the impacts of the US withdrawal.
But, as the European parties continued to renege on their obligations, the Islamic Republic moved in May 2019 to suspend some of its JCPOA commitments under articles of the deal covering Tehran’s legal rights in case of non-compliance by the other side.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said on July 18 that the three European signatories to JCPOA have not abided by their commitments, because of which Iran has requested the activation of the deal’s dispute resolution mechanism in a letter to the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the conclusion of Iran deal on Wednesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the country maneuvered with political skill following the United States’ withdrawal from JCPOA to prove that “American lawbreakers” are to blame for any shortfalls with regard to the agreement.
“Since the beginning [of the diplomatic engagement], an evil triangle of Zionism, reactionarism and hardliners in America were opposed [to diplomacy with Iran],” the Iranian president said, underscoring attempts by the deal’s opponents to throw a wrench into the works when it was being negotiated and even after its conclusion.