According to an official statement from the Iranian foreign ministry, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have conducted talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alongside bilateral relations and other regional and international matters.
The phone talk between the two top diplomats were based on “the latest status of the JCPOA,” the ministry said in a statement.
The need to implement the comprehensive 25-year cooperation program between the two countries was also emphasized by the Iranian FM, the ministry expressed.
Elsewhere, the Chinese FM welcomed the beginning of talks between Iran and the European states in the JCPOA and stressed the need for the revival of the nuclear deal. Wang Yi also noted that he has given instructions to continue close consultations in this regard between the two foreign ministries.
Talks between Iran and the European Union “have started in a positive and constructive direction” and would continue in Brussels, Amirabdollahian indicated. Furthermore, he called on the US to lift “unilateral and illegal” sanctions on Iran.
On Thursday, Enrique Mora, the EU’s deputy foreign policy chief, met in Tehran with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry, in a statetment, underlined that both sides discussed “bilateral, regional and international issues,” including “bilateral ties, Afghanistan, and negotiations on lifting sanctions against Iran.”
The visit came amid mounting pressure from the US and European countries to resume the talks in Vienna.
In May 2018, the Donald Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal, followed by a reinstatement of sanctions.
Since 2019, Iran has taken a series of measures to scale back its commitments under the deal, including ramping up nuclear enrichment activities, sparking concerns in the international community.
