Britain and its European partners have prepared “a package of initiatives” to protect the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear agreement after the US withdrawal from the deal, British Prime Minister Theresa May told President Hassan Rouhani.
In a telephone call on Sunday the British prime minister told Rouhani that “three European foreign ministers will present Iran’s foreign minister [Mohammad Javad Zarif] with a “package of initiatives” to protect implementation of the JCPOA when they meet in Brussels on Tuesday,” president.ir reported.
JCPOA is the official name of the agreement—to which Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are also signatories. The US was also a signatory but pulled out on May 8.
“Both leaders agreed on the importance of continued dialogue between the two countries, and looked forward to the meeting of UK, German, French and Iranian foreign ministers in Brussels where they will be joined by the EU’s foreign affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini to discuss the international nuclear deal and future steps,” according to a readout of the call issued by May’s office.
Iran’s ambassador to London, Hamid Baeedinejad, later asserted the same idea in a Twitter posting Sunday.
"PM Theresa May informed President Rouhani in her call today (Sunday) that the UK, France and Germany will present on Tuesday in Brussels a package of initiatives to FM Zarif, to protect implementation of the JCPOA and ensuring that Iran will enjoy from the economic benefit of the deal," Baeedinejad wrote on Twitter.
Stating that the European Union has a limited time to save the deal and guarantee Iran’s interests, Rouhani told May that “Iran’s interests in important issues related to the JCPOA such as selling oil, gas and petrochemicals, as well as banking relations and investment must be clearly determined and secured”, president.ir reported.
“In the JCPOA, the two parties have obligations and it is not acceptable that only one party lives up to its commitments,” Rouhani added.
He also referred to the significant role of the three European countries in saving the JCPOA and described Europe’s stances against US’ secondary sanctions a brave move that could maintain Europe’s position and global credibility.
May said the UK considers Iran a committed and reliable partner, adding that “Therefore, it is very important that all parties to the deal try to save it”, the presidential office reported.
***Zarif in Moscow
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who was in Moscow on Monday in the second leg of his diplomatic tour to salvage the agreement said at a meeting with his counterpart that Russia had confirmed its readiness to respect the Iran nuclear deal, the RIA news agency reported.
Zarif was cited as saying at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia and Iran would do everything to save the nuclear deal after Washington announced last week it was withdrawing from it.
Describing the current Iran nuclear issue after the US pullout as a “crisis”, Lavrov denounced “Washington’s intention to revise the main international agreements, such as the JCPOA, and other arrangements.”
“Today we hope to discuss the possibility of rallying the assistance of the three main European countries plus China, Russia, Iran and the European Union to use the available methods to prevent the destruction of this crucial document, regional destabilization and new threats to the non-proliferation regime,” Lavrov said.
After the talks, Zarif praised the "excellent cooperation" between Moscow and Tehran and said Lavrov had promised him to "defend and keep the agreement".
Russian efforts to save the accord will boost its role as a power-player in the Middle East, after its intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria.
Zarif's diplomatic tour took him to Beijing at the weekend and will see him visit Brussels later in the week, as the international backers of the agreement scramble to save it.
