TEHRAN – A senior spokesman for the European Union has said that Josep Borrell, the foreign policy chief of the bloc, continues to work with the partners at the talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. 

In remarks to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Peter Stano, the lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the European Union, underlined that the Vienna talks are separate from efforts to impose sanctions on Iran.  

He was responding to a question on whether the imposition of sanctions on Iran by the EU amounted to a change in the EU’s approach toward the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“JCPOA is a separate process in which the High Representative of the European Union acts as a coordinator and coordinates between the participants,” he said, adding, “The JCPOA process is determined by the parties and participants, not by the coordinator who has the role of coordination and facilitation.”

He continued, “In this regard, the high representative continues to interact with each of the participants, including Iran and the United States.”

He also commented on media speculations over a possible listing of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Monday meeting of the European Council. “We never comment on media speculations regarding confidential discussions between member states. Sanctions decisions are discussed confidentially and communicated only after approval,” he said. 

Last week, Stano said the JCPOA talks are still ongoing, according to Fars News.

Talks over reviving the JCPOA have come to a standstill in recent months. They have been overshadowed by unrest in Iran since September.   

Members of the European Union adopted on Thursday a resolution that called for designating the IRGC as a terrorist group. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian asserted on Thursday that the European Parliament has “shot itself in the foot” while voting to call for the European Union and its member states to include the IRGC as a “terrorist organization.”

In a phone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Amir Abdollahian sharply blasted the European Parliament's “emotional, injudicious, inaccurate and unprofessional” conduct, which is at odds with political reason and decency.