According to the official website of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, following the US announcement of its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini held talks with the Foreign Ministers of France (Jean-Yves Le Drian), Germany (Heiko Maas), the United Kingdom (Boris Johnson) and of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Mohammad Javad Zarif) on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

According to the press release, the top diplomats attending the meeting:

Recalled their commitment to the continued, full and effective implementation of the Iran nuclear deal that was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, as a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture and a significant diplomatic achievement;

Regretted the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and recognised that the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions and the normalisation of trade and economic relations with Iran constitute essential parts of the agreement;

Stressed the commitment they all share to ensure that this will continue to be delivered and they agreed to this end to deepen their dialogue at all levels.

They also undertook, in particular, to launch intensive expert discussions with Iran, addressing the following issues with a view to arriving at practical solutions in the next few weeks:

Maintaining and deepening economic relations with Iran;

The continued sale of Irans oil and gas condensate petroleum products and petrochemicals and related transfers;

Effective banking transactions with Iran;

Continued sea, land, air and rail transportation relations with Iran;

The further provision of export credit and development of special purpose vehicles in financial banking, insurance and trade areas, with the aim of facilitating economic and financial cooperation, including by offering practical support for trade and investment;

The further development and implementation of Memoranda of Understanding and contracts between European companies and Iranian counterparts;

Further investments in Iran;

The protection of European Union economic operators and ensuring legal certainty:

And last but not least, the further development of a transparent, rules-based business environment.

They finally reaffirmed their resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere, and agreed to continue to consult intensively at all levels and also with other parties to the JCPOA.

The Iranian foreign minister who is on a tour of China, Russia and Europe arrived in Brussels on Tuesday morning following meetings with Chinese and Russian officials in their capitals.

In his letter to the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, Zarif elaborated on the Islamic Republic’s stances regarding the Iran nuclear deal following the US withdrawal.

The details of the letter have not been disclosed yet.

Zarif’s letter to Mogherini follows another one to UN Secretary General António Guterres on May 10, in which the Iranian top diplomat denounced US unilateral measure to withdraw from the UNSC-approved agreement of July 2015.

In the letter to the UN chief, Zarif slammed the United States for persistently violating the terms of the agreement almost from its inception, even preventing other JCPOA Participants from fully performing their obligations; “those violations included systematic failures, late, lackluster, defective, superficial and ineffective nominal implementation, undue delays, new sanctions and designations, derogatory anti-JCPOA statements by senior officials,” Zarif added.

He stressed that the US must be held accountable for the consequences of its reckless and wrongful act that flies in the face of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Meanwhile, Zarif has arrived in Brussels to discuss the possibility of keeping the nuclear deal in place with the E3 foreign ministers – Britain, Germany and France. Iran says it will stay in the agreement as long as the European signatories to JCPOA give solid guarantees that Iran’s interests would continue to be met in the face of US sanctions.

Speaking to reporters before entering the meeting of European Council on Foreign Relations today in Luxemburg, Federica Mogherini said that preserving the nuclear deal with Iran known as the JCPOA is essential for the Europe, adding that in the meeting today, the EU foreign ministers are expected to express their support for the JCPOA once again.

Mogherini added that the three European countries (Britain, France and Germany) will inform other members about the outcome of their efforts [to preserve the JCPOA], in particular with regard to the US government, as well as their continued engagement with Iran to continue adhering to the accord.

She underlined that there are already some EU non-nuclear sanctions against Iran in place, adding that other sanctions against Iran is out of the agenda of the meeting.

Also in the same event, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, too, emphasized the importance of maintaining the nuclear deal with Iran, adding that Germany will continue to cooperate with France and Britain as well as the United States in that regard. Meanwhile, he said that issues such as Iran’s presence in Syria and Iran’s ballistic missile program should also be addressed.

During the Tuesday meeting, the two sides conferred on the reconstruction of Iraq as well as the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.

The Iran nuclear deal, also known as JCPOA, has come under threat by the current US administration, with Donald Trump calling it “the worst deal ever”, and making every attempt to undermine its full implementation.

Iran has stressed that it will not be the first party to withdraw from the deal, but has called on the other sides to the pact, as well as the EU, to adopt a unified approach in preserving the agreement in the face of Washington’s hostile measures.

The meeting between Zarif and Mogherini was held behind closed doors on the sidelines of the Kuwait International Conference on the Reconstruction of Iraq.

The Iranian foreign minister also held talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah on Tuesday, during which the two sides discussed ways to develop bilateral relations, and exchanged views on the most important international issues, particularly those related to the West Asia region.

During the meeting, Zarif expressed hope that neighboring countries and the international community would be able to reconstruct the damages done to Iraq by the terrorists as soon as possible.

The Kuwaiti foreign minister, for his part, thanked Iran for its participation in the conference, stressing that disputes and differences among regional countries must be settled through dialogue and diplomatic means.

The three-day conference is currently underway in Kuwait with participation of some 50 donor countries including Iran and around 2,000 organizations, aimed at collecting financial contributions for the reconstruction process in the war-torn Iraq.

Zarif is scheduled to deliver a speech at the conference today.

Upon arrival in Kuwait, Zarif told reporters that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great significance to the stability and progress in Iraq, and will always stand next to the Iraqi people in support and solidarity.