TEHRAN – Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, met on Sunday with his British counterpart Stephen Hickey to discuss developments in Iraq and the region, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The meeting was held at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad.

During the meeting, the two ambassadors discussed the political developments in Iraq and the region, underlining the need for Tehran and London to cooperate with the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The Iranian ambassador underlined the necessity for the United States to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from two and a half years ago. Masjedi said it is essential for the U.S. to return to its commitments under the nuclear deal.

Masjedi’s meeting with Hickey came on the heels of his meeting with the Norwegian ambassador in Iraq. The Iranian ambassador met with his Norwegian counterpart on Saturday.

The British ambassador, for his part, called on all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to uphold their commitments.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, reimposing sweeping economic sanctions on Iran in a bid to reach a new deal with Iran. Almost all parties to the Iran nuclear deal remained committed to the deal and opposed the U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden, who is on course to become U.S. president after he won enough electoral votes, had vowed to rejoin the JCPOA after moving into the White House. Biden did not make any comment on his pledge to reenter the nuclear deal since he won the U.S. presidential election but he is widely expected to rejoin the JCPOA in the coming months.

SM/PA