EU asks Iran to address concerns over nuclear program

TEHRAN

The EU foreign policy chief talked with Iran's top diplomat over the phone on Thursday to discuss Tehran's nuclear program ahead of another round of talks in Vienna.

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Josep Borrell called for Tehran to lift "some concerns regarding Iran nuclear program," according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

On his conversation with Amir-Abdollahian, Borrel had said earlier on Twitter: "I conveyed a sense of urgency: we need to advance much quicker in the negotiations to restore the deal."

Amir-Abdollahian noted the benefits of the meetings in Vienna on the Iran nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and added that Iran would closely cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Criticizing recent statements by European countries on the talks, he warned that this was not constructive and could slow down the agreement process by complicating the terms.

He claimed that Iran's nuclear program was peaceful, underlining that "resolving the nuclear concern is directly related to the lifting of sanctions."

The 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, the world powers agreed to drop their economic sanctions against Iran.

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

Both Tehran and Washington continue to maintain their tough positions. While Iran wants the removal of all US sanctions and guarantees given by Washington not to abandon the agreement again, the US is calling for Iran to comply with its commitments.

Iran and world powers on Nov. 29 kicked off talks in Vienna in a last-ditch attempt to restore the 2015 accord.