Iran, China, Russia, and Europe will discuss possible US return to nuclear deal

A virtual meeting of Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will take place on Friday to discuss a possible US return to the Iran nuclear deal, said the EU in a statement released Thursday.

“The Joint Commission will be chaired on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell by the Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora. It will be attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran,” the statement said.

“Participants will discuss the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides.”

In 2018, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the JCPOA deal, which is aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. Current US President Joe Biden has said the US will rejoin the nuclear deal once Tehran returns to full compliance with the pact’s restrictions on nuclear development again.

“We obviously welcome this is a positive step,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington on Thursday. “We have been clear for weeks now that we are ready to pursue a return to compliance with our JCPOA commitments consistent with Iran also doing the same.”

“We have also been open about the fact that we have been talking with our partners in the P5+1 context and elsewhere about the best way to achieve this, including through a series of initial mutual steps,” Price added.

“We’ve been looking at options for doing so, including with indirect conversations through our European partners.”