TEHRAN - Serbia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Sunday that Belgrade has always supported and would continue to support the 2015 nuclear deal – JCPOA - and Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Selakovic, who visited Tehran on Saturday, made the remarks in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani.

Serbia, Selakovic added, remains determined to have friendly relations with Iran.

For his part, Rouhani censured the United States’ illegal sanctions on Iran and its economic war against the Iranian people over the past three years.

Rouhani said the new administration in Washington has pledged to rejoin the nuclear deal of 2015, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Rouhani said that a lifting of all U.S. sanctions on Iran will create “a new atmosphere” for the Islamic Republic’s economic cooperation with the world.

“Given the shift in circumstances at the international level and the apparent willingness of the new U.S. administration to return to the JCPOA, with the complete lifting of the sanctions, a new atmosphere will emerge for Iran’s cooperation and economic interactions with the world,” Rouhani said, calling on “friendly countries to try to seize this opportunity.”

Rouhani also said Iran values peace, stability and security in the Balkans and the peaceful coexistence of all ethnic groups.

Iran has always supported Serbia’s national unity, Rouhani added.

PA/PA