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News > Iran

High-Ranking EU Official to Visit Iran Amid Increased Tensions

  • Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, January 10, 2020.

    Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, January 10, 2020. | Photo: Reuters

Published 2 February 2020
Opinion

Tensions between the EU and Iran have been at a five-year-long high, following the U.S.' assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. 

Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will visit Iran on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced on Sunday.

Borrell will visit the Iranian capital for the first time after taking office in December 2019 amid escalating disputes over Tehran's nuclear program.

He is scheduled to hold meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other senior Iranian officials during his trip.

On January 16, Borrell met with Zarif on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India. During the meeting, Zarif urged the European countries to meet their commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The European Union has attempted to play the role of mediator between the United States and Iran since Washington withdrew from the nuclear agreement. This move, under the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump, has led to increased tensions in the Middle East region. 

The tensions between Iran and the U.S. were amplified at the start of January when Washington carried out the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani near the Baghdad International Airport. 

This assassination by the U.S. led to sequence of events and culminated in a heavy response from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Iraq. On January 8th, the IRGC fired over 20 missiles towards two Iraqi bases that housed the U.S. forces inside the country. The attack would result in over 65 wounded, the Pentagon later reported.

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