Press TV - TheEU foreign policy chiefhas reaffirmed the blocs commitment to the 2015 international nuclear agreement between Iran and six other countries in the face of the belligerentUS rhetoricagainst the accord.
At a time of acute nuclear threats the European Union is determined to preserve the JCPOA as a key pillar of the international non-proliferation architecture," Federica Mogherini said in Luxembourg on Thursday.
The JCPOA stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the nuclear deal reached between Iran andthe US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany is officially called.
She also described the agreement as the culmination of 12 years of diplomacy facilitated by the European Union and endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
The European Union is committed to the continued full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA. The European Union underlines that the lifting of nuclear related sanctions has a positive impact on trade and economic relations with Iran, she added.
Under the deal, Iran undertook to apply certain limitsto its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.
Donald Trump, who rose to the US presidency a year after the implementation of the deal had begun, has opposed it.
On Friday, Trump refused to certify Irans compliance with the terms of the nuclear accord under a domestic American law, kickinga decision to Congress over whether to restore sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
He also threatened to terminate the JCPOA if he could not reach a solution working with Congress and our allies to change it.
On Monday, Trump further termed the JCPOA a horrible deal for the United States and warned that the agreementstotal termination was a very real possibility.
Elsewhere in her comments, Mogherini said the EU encourages Washington to maintain its commitment to the JCPOA.
Russia supports JCPOA
Separately on Thursday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister AbbasAraqchi met with his Russian counterpartSergei Ryabkovin Moscow.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"]
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (1st from R) meets with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow, October 19, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)[/caption]During the meeting, Ryabkov said Moscow remains committed to the Iran nuclear deal, according to a statement by Russias Foreign Ministry.
He also stressed that Moscow and Tehran could not be indifferent to the irresponsible US stance on the JCPOA, IRNA reported.
The Iranian official, for his part, said the JCPOA is not a bilateral agreement between Iran and the US, but rather an international document that is endorsed by the UN Security Council.
We should not allow a country to make decision for the world and I think that Russia and Iran share a common stance on this issue, Araqchi pointed out.
