European Countries Intensify Efforts To Preserve JCPOA - Iranian Official

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2019) A number of European countries have increased their efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran regarding its nuclear program, Mahmoud Vaezi, chief of staff for the Iranian president, said on Wednesday.

After the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, both the European Union and individual European countries have been trying to preserve the agreement.

"In addition to [the joint commission's meetings], other countries, such as France, which has made more efforts in this regard, have held talks with us in a bid to reach a framework. We will continue our talks with the French president, and we hope to achieve whatever is to the benefit of our people and our country as defined in the JCPOA," Vaezi said, quoted by Mehr news agency.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief. In 2018, the United States abandoned its conciliatory policy on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and hitting Iranian petroleum industries with sanctions, prompting Tehran's gradual abandonment of its JCPOA obligations.