Talks aimed at reviving the nearly-defunct Iran nuclear deal will resume in coming days, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday at the close of a visit to Tehran where he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
“I am very happy, as Minister has said, and thank you for that Minister, that we will resume the talks on the JCPOA in the coming days,” Borrell said, according to a transcript published by his office.
While Amirabdollahian confirmed Borrell’s remarks, previous declarations that talks would resume have proved overly optimistic. The negotiations are aimed at restoring compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Since then, Iran has backed away from its commitments under the agreement, which was intended to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
“The coming days means the coming days,” Borrell said. “I mean quickly, immediately. And so, we are going to break this stalemate and stop this escalation process in which we were.”
Borrell is the coordinator of the negotiations, but to break the deadlock requires agreement between Tehran and Washington, which has so far proved elusive.