TEHRAN - European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Thursday that the EU’s Asian partners seek to keep the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“I have to say that our partners from Asia have always shown a lot of interest in working to keep the full implementation of the JCPOA; obviously for security reasons that also concern Asia and Central Asia,” the EU’s official website quoted her as saying upon arrival to the Europe-Asia Meeting (ASEM) Summit.

She added, “Iran is not only a Middle Eastern country; it is also a country that have long borders with Afghanistan for instance, and that has many interests and links with Asia. I have always very much seen the interest and also exactly the same position that we have with our Asian partners on the need to maintain the JCPOA and on the need for Iran to stick to the full compliance to the nuclear commitments taken.”

Mogherini also said the block has decided to put its plan aimed at creating a payment channel to preserve business with Iran and circumvent new U.S. sanctions in place.

“This is something that we have presented during the [United Nations] General Assembly ministerial week in New York. The Member States of the European Union have decided to put this system in place, so they are now working on the concrete establishment of this. I am confident that they will continue this work in a successful manner in the coming weeks.”

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the nuclear deal in May and reintroduced sanctions on Iran in August. The second wave of sanctions, which targets Iran’s oil exports and central bank, is due to start in early November.

On September 25, Mogherini announced that the bloc was creating a new payment mechanism to allow countries to transact with Iran while avoiding U.S. sanctions.

NA/SP