TEHRAN - European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel have insisted that Europe will remain committed to the 2015 nuclear deal as long as Iran abide by the agreement.

In phone conversations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mogherini and Gabriel noted that Iran has fully implemented its obligations under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Given Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, the country must enjoy economic benefits of the agreement, the European officials said.

The remarks by Gabriel and Mogherini came before Trump unveiled his new Iran which included “de-certifying” Iran’s compliance to the nuclear accord.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his strong opposition to the nuclear accord and has desperately sought a pretext to undermine it.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran’s adherence to the terms of the nuclear agreement for eight times.

The nuclear deal was signed by Iran, the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia, Germany, and the European Union in July 2015 and went into effect in January 2016.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday, “We believe this deal is important to ensuring the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and regional peace and stability. We hope all parties can continue to preserve and implement this deal.”

According to TASS news agency, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also held a phone conversation over the agreement with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“Lavrov drew attention to the fact that Tehran abides by all its commitments on the JCPOA and stressed that the other co-authors must adhere to the document,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said of the conversation.

Harvard professor:  Decertification ‘won’t work’

Stephen Walt, a professor at Harvard University, tweeted on Thursday, “I hear Trump will announce his ‘new’ Iran strategy tomorrow.  My bet: it won’t be that new, won’t be a real strategy, and it won’t work.”

Congressman: Throwing away the Iran deal will make our country less safe

Bill Foster, who represents the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, also tweeted Thursday, “As the only PhD physicist in Congress, I know that any attempt to throw away the Iran Deal will make our country less safe.”

EU ambassador: ‘The nuclear deal is working and we should keep it’

David O’Sullivan, the EU ambassador to U.S., said in an interview with Bloomberg published on Thursday, “Myself and my British, French and German colleagues have been going around Congress so that they are aware of our position: The nuclear deal is working and we should keep it.”

He added, “In this period of uncertainty, we Europeans want to stress that this is a good deal.”

“The deal was only about one issue,” O’Sullivan said. “We never attempted to resolve all the issues that we have with Iran.”

Lavrov to Zarif: Moscow committed to Iran nuclear deal

The Russian foreign minister said on Friday that Russia remains fully committed to the nuclear deal.

According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, in a phone conversation with Zarif, Lavrov said that Russia is firmly determined to implement the deal.

NA/PA