Top EU diplomat does not expect compromise on Iran nuclear deal in New York

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU foreign policy chief on Tuesday said that he does not expect this week a breakthrough in reviving Iran nuclear deal.

On the margins of the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York, Josep Borrell was asked about the chances of reaching a final compromise on the draft he presented in August to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Borrell asserted he does “not expect that anything will happen during this week” after the parties “made some proposals that were certainly not contributing to look for a final result.”

At the same time, he stressed, that they were and “are still close” to getting a final result because he does “not see a better solution than the one we have proposed.”

The Iran nuclear deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the EU.

Under the agreement, Tehran has committed to limit its nuclear activity to civilian purposes and in return, world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

Under former President Donald Trump, the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to stop complying with the nuclear deal.

In August, Borrell presented a proposal on lifting US sanctions and ensuring Iran’s compliance with nuclear requirements.