Italy Stresses EU’s Commitment to Iran Nuclear Deal

Italian Foreign Minister Alfano Angelino says the EU believes all the signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), should remain committed to the agreement.

Angelino said in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Rome on Thursday that the EU has a completely positive view about the JCPOA and underlines the need for all sides to remain committed to it.

 The JCPOA was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – namely the US, Russia, China, France, and Britain plus Germany – in July 2015. Under the deal, Iran undertook to apply certain limits to its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been opposed to the JCPOA, which was negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump warned in October that he might ultimately “terminate” the nuclear accord.

Except for Washington, all other parties to the JCPOA have announced their support for the agreement and censured any move that could harm it.

During their Thursday meeting, the Iranian and Italian top diplomats exchanged views on regional issues and bilateral ties.

They further expressed their satisfaction with the level of political relations between Tehran and Rome and called for enhancing economic cooperation.

Zarif is in Rome to attend the Mediterranean Dialogues (MED) 2017 summit, a three-day conference on security in the Mediterranean region.

On the sidelines on the event, Zarif met with his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

Mogherini tweeted that the Iran deal was among the topics discussed in her meeting with the Iranian foreign minister.

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