clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Iran calls on EU to mediate for return of nuclear deal

February 3, 2021 at 12:13 pm

Iranian flag [ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images]

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that the EU could mediate between the Islamic Republic and the US to reinstate the nuclear deal which was scrapped by former American President Donald Trump.

Speaking to CNN on Monday, Zarif said that EU Foreign Affairs Minister Josep Borrell was coordinating the issue of whether Iran or the US should act first.

“You know clearly there can be a mechanism to basically either synchronise it, or coordinate what can be done,” he told CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour.

Zarif added that Borrell can “sort of choreograph the actions that are needed to be taken by the United States and the actions that are needed to be taken by Iran.”

READ: Iran says crew of detained South Korean vessel can leave

He said that Iran is able to stop its uranium enrichment “in less than a day” if the US dropped sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and returned to the 2015 nuclear agreement.

“The United States needs to come back into compliance and Iran will be ready immediately to respond. The timing is not the issue,” Zarif said.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has said that it could return to the nuclear deal with Iran on condition that the Islamic Republic halt its enrichment programme.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the US should start taking action if it wants to return to the deal.