Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that his country was open to talks with the European Union (EU) on possible ways to save the 2015 landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers, according to the report.
During a meeting, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, President Rouhani said, “We believe that the nuclear deal served the interests of the region and the world and the US move harms all (nations) and even the American people”, Press TV reported.
“Over the past 21 months since the US exit from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), the EU has unfortunately failed to take effective steps in line with mutual relations and the fulfilment of its commitments under the JCPOA,” he added.
The Dutch Minister, for his part, said his country would make efforts to preserve the JCPOA and stressed the importance of continuing dialogue as a means of solving problems.
Earlier in the month, Rouhani had said that the Islamic republic is ready for interaction and cooperation with Europe to settle nuclear deal-related problems.
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.
On January 22, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi criticised three European countries — Britain, France and Germany — for their recent triggering of the dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal.
Last year, Britain, France and Germany warned Iran against any further breaches of the international nuclear deal signed in 2015.
Iran has already taken three separate calibrated steps away from the deal and has warned it will take a fourth in November unless the US lifts economic sanctions.
In December, last year, the three European countries announced they had taken steps to trigger the dispute mechanism with Iran in response to Tehran’s back-off from the nuclear commitments over the past months.