TEHRAN - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday described the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, as “a masterpiece of diplomacy”.

Borrell made the remarks on Wednesday at a joint press statement with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had visited Brussels to participate at NATO foreign ministerial meeting on March 23-24.

“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remains a key achievement of multilateral diplomacy despite existing difficulties. There are difficulties, but despite that, I think that this agreement is a masterpiece of diplomacy,” the statement said, according to eeas.europa.eu.

In May 2019, one year after Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and imposed heavy sanctions on Iran, Iran started to gradually remove bans on its nuclear activities. Since then, Iran has been insisting if sanctions are lifted it will immediately reverse its nuclear steps.

Now Iran and the new Joe Biden administration are wrangling which side should take the first step to revive the JCPOA. Iran says since it is the U.S. which quit the JCPOA, naturally it should be the first party to recommit the U.S. to its obligations.

Under the agreement, Iran agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

In part of statement, Borrell said, “Iran’s continued departure from its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA are a source of concern and we stressed our full support to the work of the International Atomic Energy [Agency]. As Coordinator of the JCPOA, I welcome the Secretary’s reaffirmation that the U.S. is ready to engage and the prospect of a U.S. return to the JCPOA. We will work on that.”

The European Union website also said, “Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. readiness to reengage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA by the United States and Iran.”

It also said, “The United States expressed readiness to engage in result-oriented discussions to that end.”

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been insisting that the United States must first lift sanctions on Iran in a verifiable manner and then the Islamic Republic will return to full commitment to the JCPOA.

PA/PA