Iran is ready to cooperate with the European Union to resolve issues related to the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, President Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with the head of the EU’s foreign service, Josep Borrell, in Tehran on Monday, according to the ISNA news service.
“Iran is still ready for interaction and cooperation with the European Union for resolving issues and whenever the opposite side completely upholds their commitments, Iran will return to its commitments,” Rouhani said, according to Reuters.
Borrell's trip, his first to Iran since taking office, follows a spike in tensions between arch foes Washington and Tehran following the January 3 killing in Baghdad of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike.
The two-day visit opened with a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, ahead of talks with Rouhani and parliament speaker Ali Larijani.
The nuclear deal between Tehran and a group of world powers has been crumbling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, and Washington has since stepped up sanctions and a campaign of "maximum pressure" against Iran.
Tehran has gradually stepped back from its own commitments under the deal, while military tensions with the US brought the two countries to the brink of full-blown confrontation last month.
Borrell's mission aims "to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis," said the office of the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
The trip will allow Borrell "to convey the EU's strong commitment to preserve" the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and to discuss cooperation between the EU and Iran, his office said.
