As a silence elevates over who will take the first step in the Iran nuclear deal negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spoke on the issue once again in an interview on 1 February. Minister Javad Zarif said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) group formed a joint commission in order to tackle the issue. Furthermore, Zarif stated that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, will be leading the joint commission.
In response to the formation of said commission, Zarif has made positive remarks in the interview conducted. He has stated that Josep Borrell can mediate the demands of both parties, and create the mechanism needed to coordinate what is necessary to resolve the issue.
The US, under the new Biden administration, pledged to return to the JCPOA agreement, which former president Donald Trump withdrew from on May 8, 2018, in order to pressure Iran. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed the US’s return on the condition that Iran complies with its terms first. Iran strongly opposed this statement, underlining that the US withdrew from the agreement, thus it should make the first steps to resolve the issue at hand.
