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News > Iran

EU's Tehran Envoy Talks Potential Lifting of Sanctions on Iran

  • Iran's Deputy PM Ali Bagheri and the EU’s  Enrique Mora met Thursday in Tehran, discussing the Vienna talks, Afghanistan and other regional and bilateral issues.

    Iran's Deputy PM Ali Bagheri and the EU’s Enrique Mora met Thursday in Tehran, discussing the Vienna talks, Afghanistan and other regional and bilateral issues. | Photo: Twitter/@AbasAslani

Published 14 October 2021
Opinion

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Ali Baqeri-Kani has met Thursday with the European Union's deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora, who is currently in Tehran to discuss, among other things, the future of Vienna talks to remove Washington's anti-Iran sanctions.

Heading the delegation, Mora arrived in Tehran on Thursday and held a meeting with Baqeri-Kani at Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

Iran’s relations with the European Union were high on the agenda, as was the issue of Afghanistan and the efforts to remove U.S. sanctions and revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

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The diplomats announced their meeting the day before via their Twitter accounts.

“In line with recent regional and international consultations, I will host @eu_eeas Deputy Secretary-General @enriquemora_ on Thursday. Exchanging views on bilateral & regional issues including Afghanistan, as well as talks on the removal of cruel sanctions are on the agenda,” Baqeri-Kani wrote.

“As coordinator of the JCPOA, I will raise the urgency to resume #JCPOA negotiations in Vienna. Crucial to pick up talks from where we left last June to continue diplomatic work,” Mora tweeted.

Iran and the other members of the JCPOA held six rounds of talks in Vienna, which started up again after the Joe Biden administration voiced its interest in rejoining the nuclear agreement three years after the Donald Trump administration unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal, reinstating crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Participants took a break from the negotiations after Ebrahim Raeisi emerged victorious in Iran’s June presidential election, and waited for Iran’s democratic transition to take place to continue with the talks.

Among the key issues not settled during the administration of former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is the scope of the sanctions removal and the need for the U.S. to assure it would not ditch the JCPOA again.

In recent weeks, pressure has mounted on Tehran to return to the negotiating table, with the Raeisi administration stating on several occasions that it will resume the talks to remove all of the United States’ illegal sanctions, clarifying it will not take part in negotiations for the sake of the negotiations.

The Thursday meeting came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of “other options” if Iran doesn’t change course, referring to Tehran’s abandoning some of its obligations as a legitimate response under the JCPOA against the U.S. withdrawal from the deal.

Iran has also criticized the Europeans for their failure to protect business with Tehran up against U.S. sanctions.

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