BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. Iran and the European Union expressed their interest in taking steps based on the agreed framework regarding Iran's nuclear program, Trend reports.
This was noted in the meeting of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in New York.
During the meeting, the importance of Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran's cooperation with three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany) was stressed.
Also, the importance of the continuation of nuclear discussions on Iran's nuclear program and the full fulfillment of obligations by all members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was noted.
At the meeting, the European side said that the European Union, as the coordinator of the nuclear talks, is ready to conduct necessary consultations and dialogue on Iran's nuclear program.
The JCPOA is a nuclear deal that was signed in 2016 between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany). It imposed some restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting some sanctions against Iran. However, in 2018, the US withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed new sanctions on Iran, affecting its oil exports and freezing its assets abroad. More than 700 banks, companies, and individuals were also targeted by the sanctions.
In late 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to implement a strategic plan to tackle the sanctions, citing the non-implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and six countries and the imposition of sanctions on Iran. According to the decision of the Iranian parliament, as of February 23, Iran suspended the implementation of additional steps and an additional protocol provided for in the nuclear deal. As a result, the control mechanism of the IAEA decreased by 20–30 percent.
Iran discloses various programs related to its nuclear industry to reflect that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, according to the information obtained by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has increased the amount of highly enriched uranium by 27 percent in the last three months, and currently the country's enriched uranium reserves are 4,745 kilograms. This is 15 times more than the amount of uranium allowed for Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
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