JCPOA Ministerial Meeting in NY

EghtesadOnline: A ministerial meeting of the remaining signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was held in New York on Wednesday to salvage the landmark agreement after the US exit.

News ID: ۷۴۸۵۵۸

28 September 2019

The meeting was chaired by EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and attended by the foreign ministers of Iran, China, France, Germany and Russia as well as the United Kingdom minister of state, according to a statement published on the website of the EU's External Action Service.

The statement said the ministers would discuss ways of "ensuring the full and effective implementation of JCPOA in all its aspects".

Mogherini told reporters after the meeting that the JCPOA parties are committed to upholding the pact, though it is “increasingly difficult”, according to Financial Tribune.

She also said all sides had agreed to continue efforts to implement the deal, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump last year unilaterally withdrew from the international agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—which placed limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions—and reimposed sweeping financial penalties.

The Europeans have been scrambling to find a way to preserve the accord, including by trying to operationalize a mechanism to do business with Iran despite US sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had told reporters before the meeting that the top diplomats would explore ways to preserve “this significant achievement of diplomacy”, referring to the nuclear deal, ISNA reported.

“I am always hopeful about diplomacy, as it is the only solution,” Zarif said.