Credit: avrupa.info.tr /  Josep Borrell,  High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Joseph  Borrell, the European Union’s  foreign policy chief,  pledged “to do everything possible” to salvage the historic 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA, between Tehran and world powers.  Borrell made the statement Tuesday on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the 2015 nuclear accord. 

“Today, on the fifth anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the preservation of the agreement is more important than ever. The JCPOA was concluded on 14 July 2015 and subsequently endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council (Resolution 2231). It is a historic multilateral achievement for global nuclear non-proliferation and is contributing to regional and global security. As the Coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission, I am determined to do everything possible together with the remaining participants of the JCPOA and the international community to preserve the agreement.”

-Josep Borrell,   European Union  Foreign Policy High Representative 

The deal was reached between Iran and a group of countries then known as the Group 5+1 — which included the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany — on July 14, 2015. However, in May 2018,   US  President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted under the deal.

Borrell said the the JCPOA “remains the only tool”  to provide the international community with the necessary assurances regarding Iran’s nuclear programme.  “It consists of nuclear-related commitments to be implemented by Iran in exchange for sanctions-lifting by the international community with a view to normalising trade and economic relations with Iran. The agreement also provides for unprecedented monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and I commend the continuous professional, technical and impartial work of the agency. The full implementation of the JCPOA by all sides remains crucial.”

Borrell added:  “We should not assume that an opportunity will arise again in the future for the international community to address Iran’s nuclear programme in such a comprehensive manner.”