TEHRAN - European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will attend President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration in August, according to the union’s official website. 

“The HR/VP Federica Mogherini will travel to Tehran on 5 August, in her capacity as Chair of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA, to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Rouhani,” a statement carried on the website said on Saturday. 

“On this occasion she will have bilateral meetings with Iranian dignitaries to review the state of implementation of the nuclear deal and to discuss issues of bilateral and regional relevance,” it added. 

Rouhani, who won an overwhelming majority in the May 19 ballot, is due to be inaugurated on August 5 for a second four-year term. 

The news comes at a sensitive time for Tehran which is increasingly targeted by a hostile rhetoric from the Trump administration, and there are fears the escalating run-ins between Tehran and Washington kill the international nuclear deal with world powers, in which Mogherini played a consequential role. 

Mogherini is a vocal supporter of the deal, once called by U.S. President Trump as a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated".

In response to calls by Washington to “review” the deal, which Rouhani bashes as its signature foreign policy achievement, the European Union’s chief diplomat hailed the deal as one “made to stand the test of time” and “a pillar of the international non-proliferation agenda”. 

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the deal on July 14, Mogherini renewed support for the “historic deal” saying "The European Union is and will stay committed in preserving and implementing [the Iran deal], and building on it to address the remaining unresolved sources of tension and conflict that are still afflicting the region.” 

Also, since implementation of the accord in January 2016, trade between Iran and EU has soared to unprecedented levels. 

On July 22, the EU’s deputy political director, Helga Schmid, said despite existing challenges, there has been a consistent trend of economic engagement as reflected by the latest announcements of major trade and investment deals. 

PA/PA