LONDON (CU)_US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday (Feb 5), discussed with his British, French and German counterparts on several issues including how to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
The high level conversation between the Western allies was a part of the Biden administration’s efforts to explore how to restore the deal which was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter that the parties had an “in-depth and important conversation” on Iran, and on how to handle together “nuclear and regional security challenges.”
US President Joe Biden was a part of the Obama administration which negotiated the nuclear deal formerly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which limited Iran’s uranium enrichment activity in order to make it more difficult for the Middle Eastern nation to develop nuclear arms, and in return, six Western countries, including the United States, agree to ease sanctions on Iran.
However, Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, and restored the previous sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Speaking before Friday’s meeting, a source familiar with the matter said it was unlikely that the foreign ministers would delve into great detail on Iran since it was a first chance for the parties to discuss the issue.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Twitter that the discussion was a part of an ongoing policy review, but “not decisional”.
President Biden has previously said that if Washington was to re-join the agreement, Tehran would first need to return to strict compliance of the pact, while Tehran has insisted that its government would only resume compliance if Washington was to ease sanctions.
Nevertheless, on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hinted on a way to resolve the impasse over who goes first by saying the steps could be synchronized.
According to a statement issued by the US State Department, beside Iran, the foreign ministers also discussed several other issues, including the Coronavirus pandemic, Myanmar, China, Russia and climate change, and that Blinken “underscored the U.S. commitment to coordinated action to overcome global challenges.”
