BRUSSELS: Top European Union (EU) diplomat Josep Borrell is likely to visit Tehran on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry announced a day before the tour, in the midst of major concerns over Iran’s nuclear deal.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Amir Moussavi said: “Borrell will visit Iran tomorrow for the first time since assuming office in early December, he is scheduled to meet with Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif and other senior Iranian officials for consultations.”
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Moussavi provided no details regarding Borrell’s arrival or how long he would stay in the country. His visit comes in the midst of rising tensions between Iran and the West over the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic.
On January 24, in an attempt to preserve the agreement that has been crumbling since the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018, Borrell called for a meeting of remaining countries party to the 2015 nuclear deal in February. Both sides “have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the arrangement which is in the interest of all,” he had earlier said.
In 2015, Iran decided to cut its nuclear program significantly in exchange for a partial easing of international sanctions. However, the US withdrawal from the deal and its re-imposition of scratching sanctions deprived Iran of expected economic benefits and urged Tehran to implement a series of steps away from its fundamental commitments.
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