Tehran (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In a telephone conversation, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, swapped views on the resumption of the discussions on the revitalisation of a 2015 nuclear deal.
In a phone call, the two sides examined bilateral ties as well as regional and international matters of common interest, including the advancement of multilateralism in the world and developments in Gaza. On the resumption of the nuclear exchanges between Iran and the other parties to the deal, Pezeshkian stated the existence of trust and safeguarding bilateral interests were the basis for an agreement.
He said that should both sides satisfy their commitments and help build mutual trust, in addition to restoring the nuclear deal, other bilateral problems could be discussed.Â
How does Iran view US policies affecting global stability?
Pezeshkian stressed the necessity to establish a multilateral world order, stating that the US “policies towards and pressures on countries such as Iran and its bids to rob them of their rights and interests were aimed at stopping the establishment of a new world order as well as the rehabilitation of stability and calm to the world”. Iran had always sustained ensuring peace and stability in the world and for all peoples and maintained that any trend or movement in any part of the world that threatened those values should be stopped, he said.
How does the situation in Gaza impact Iran-EU relations?
On the developments in Gaza, Pezeshkian expressed that through enforcing “double standards, the United States and some Western nations had emboldened Israel in its perpetration of actions of terror and heinous crimes” in the Palestinian seaside enclave and West Asian countries, having further compromised stability and security in the region and the world.
How does the EU plan to support the nuclear deal revival?
The European Council president, for his part, voiced willingness for the resumption of the nuclear talks, hoping for the beginning of effective interaction between the European Union and Iran based on protecting mutual interests and removing obstacles to the development of bilateral cooperation. He also expressed the European countries’ interest in improving the level of ties with Iran.
What are the EU’s proposals for addressing humanitarian issues in Gaza?
Turning to Gaza, Michel called for monitoring humanitarian rights, stopping aggression on the enclave, achieving a truce, ensuring extensive support to Gazans, and recognizing Palestine as an independent state.
What obstacles remain in the path to restoring the JCPOA?
Iran inscribed the nuclear deal, formally understood as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world authorities in July 2015, accepting limitations on its nuclear program in trade for the lifting of sanctions. However, the United States shrank from the agreement in May 2018, reinstating sanctions and encouraging Iran to scale back some of its nuclear obligations. Efforts to restore the JCPOA commenced in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria, but despite numerous rounds of negotiations, no substantial improvement has been reported since the last talks in August 2022.
