IRNA � The meeting of joint commission of the nuclear deal was "a step forward", head of Iran's delegation at the meeting said Friday.






Abbas Araqchi made the remarks just after the meeting in Vienna ended on Friday afternoon.

It was the 12th meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that kicked off at 12:00 hours local time in Vienna on Friday.

Before the meeting, seven European countries�Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden�in a joint statement expressed their support for the efforts for implementation of INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges).

Laurence Norman, the correspondent of Wall Street Journal, quoted the sources at the meeting that INSTEX is operational and is processing first transactions.

The mechanism was pledged by the European signatories to the deal when the US unilaterally withdrew from it. The UK, France and Germany vowed that they would cover the damages inflicted on Iran as a result of the withdrawal.

Inaction of Europe over the past year prompted Iran to reduce its commitments under the deal in May.