Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, proposed a draft agreement to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
He stressed the importance of reaching an agreement and pointed out that there is little room for any more substantial compromises, according to Reuters reporting on Wednesday.
“I have now put on the table a text that addresses, in precise detail, the sanctions lifting as well as the nuclear steps needed to restore the JCPOA,” he pointed out in an article for the Financial Times, referring to the nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“After 15 months of intense, constructive negotiations in Vienna and countless interactions with the JCPOA participants and the US, I have concluded that the space for additional significant compromises has been exhausted,” Borrell warned.
Ali Bagheri, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, confirmed on Twitter that Borrell came forward with a new draft agreement. “We too have our own ideas, both in substance and form, to conclude the negotiations which would be shared,” Bagheri announced.
Ned Price, spokesman for the US Department of State, pointed out at a press conference that the US was reviewing Borrell’s draft agreement and added that the US government would respond to the EU directly.
Borrell calls for urgency
While Borrell did not share any details about the draft proposal, he warned that time to revive the Iran nuclear deal was running out. Many Western officials involved in negotiations have previously stressed the importance of reaching an agreement sooner rather than later.
“It is now time for swift political decisions to conclude the Vienna negotiations on the basis of my proposed text and to immediately return to a fully implemented JCPOA,” Borrell wrote, stressing “if the deal is rejected, we risk a dangerous nuclear crisis, set against the prospect of increased isolation for Iran and its people.”
Under the JCPOA, Iran is to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
The US backed out from the deal in 2018, with Iran stepping up its nuclear efforts and breaching limitations set out in the agreement roughly one year later.
