Iran, EU hold high-level political talks in Brussels
Iran, EU hold high-level political talks in Brussels

The fourth round of Iran-EU high-level political talks were held Mon. in Brussels, where the two sides conferred on a wide variety of issues, including bilateral cooperation and regional developments. The fourth round of Iran-EU high-level political talks were chaired by Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid and Iranian Deputy […]

The fourth round of Iran-EU high-level political talks were held Mon. in Brussels, where the two sides conferred on a wide variety of issues, including bilateral cooperation and regional developments.

The fourth round of Iran-EU high-level political talks were chaired by Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araghchi.

During the talks held in two sessions on Monday in Brussles, the two sides conferred on bilateral cooperation in agriculture, education and research, trade, energy, climate change, transport, banking transactions, refugees, narcotics, natural disasters, human rights, and fight against terrorism.

The second session was dedicated to talks on regional developments.

This round of talks, held concurrently with Iran-EU high-level seminar on ‘International Nuclear Cooperation’, was particularly notable for marking the first joint event between Iran and Europe on nuclear cooperation after the re-imposition of US’ unilateral sanctions on Iran in the wake of Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Speaking at the meeting, Araghchi stressed the strategic importance of the JCPOA for regional and global peace and security, and highlighted Iran’s full compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the deal.

He called on the remaining parties to the nuclear deal, particularly the E3 and the European Union, to speed up the implementation of their commitments in the face of US’ unlawful withdrawal from the agreement.

The Iranian diplomat maintained that any delay in the implementation of commitments under this “significant diplomatic achievement” would lead to a “serious challenge” for the international community. He stressed that in such a circumstance, Iran would make decisions according to its independence and national interests.