TEHRAN - Tarja Cronberg, a former member of the European Parliament, says Europe can play a key role in breaking the current deadlock between Tehran and Washington over the JCPOA, according to Tasnim news agency.

Concerning the revival of the nuclear deal, Cronberg said, “The critical question right now is sequencing, that is who goes first. The Americans want Iran to be in compliance with the JCPOA before considering sanctions relief, Iran wants sanctions relief first and has a law defining a deadline as February 21st. There is unique political will on both sides to solve the problem, but time is a critical factor.” 

She highlighted the role of the EU as a mediator between Iran and the U.S. and said, “The Europeans should be able to help in this deadlock. The U.S. return to the deal requires the acceptance of all the parties, not only Iran, the U.S. and the Europeans but also Russia and China.”

The former MEP suggested “the Europeans as the chair of the Joint Commission in charge of the implementation of the deal can take the initiative. It is a good sign that the U.S. is now consulting its allies, instead of going alone.” 

In an interview with the CNN on February 1, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell as the coordinator of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA can “choreograph” the process of reviving the deal.
Cronberg, a distinguished associate fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and Finland’s former labor minister, further noted there are “concerns whether a smaller step, for example a freeze on both sides should be the first step. This would delay the process and time is short. Both parties should avoid any provocations in order to achieve an immediate re-entry to the deal of the U.S.” 

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, stressed on Sunday that Iran will retrace its nuclear countermeasures once the U.S. lifts its sanctions in a manner that could be verifiable by Tehran.
 
“Iran will return to its JCOPA obligations once the U.S. fully lifts its sanctions in action and not in words or on paper, and once the sanction relief is verified by Iran,” Ayatollah Khamenei asserted.

The Leader added, “The Americans and the Europeans have no right to set any conditions as they violated their JCPOA commitments.”