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VIENNA: Senior officials from Iran and the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear deal met Friday with the future of the accord under threat as Tehran was poised to surpass a uranium stockpile threshold.
At the heart of the meeting is Iran’s desire for Europe to deliver on promises of financial relief from US sanctions that are crippling the country’s economy. Iran insists it wants to save the agreement and has urged the Europeans to start buying Iranian oil or give Iran a credit line to keep the accord alive.
There was no comment from participants who arrived at a Vienna hotel to take part in the regular quarterly meeting of the accord’s so-called joint commission, which brings together senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the European Union. The main session of the meeting lasted about three hours.
The agreement was aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The US withdrew from the accord last year and has imposed new sanctions on Iran in hopes of forcing Tehran into negotiating a wider-ranging deal.
President Donald Trump said on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan that “there’s no rush” to ease current tensions with Iran.
“There’s absolutely no time pressure,” he added. “I think that in the end, hopefully, it’s going to work out. If it does, great. And if doesn’t, you’ll be hearing about it.”
Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium. It previously said it would surpass a 300-kilogram stockpile limit set by the accord by Thursday, but an Iranian official said it was below the limit Wednesday and there would be no new assessment until “after the weekend.” It is currently a holiday weekend in Iran.
European countries are pressing for Iran to comply in full with the accord, though they have not specified what the consequences would be of failing to do so. But Iranian officials maintain that even if it surpasses the enrichment limit, it would not be breaching the deal, and say such a move could be reversed quickly.
The Europeans also face a July 7 deadline set by Tehran to offer long-promised relief from US sanctions, or Iran says it will also begin enriching its uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.
Iranian state TV reported Thursday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter urging European signatories to the accord to implement their commitments, saying Iran’s next steps depend on that.
Britain, France and Germany are finalizing a complicated barter-type system known as INSTEX to maintain trade with Iran and avoid US sanctions, as part of efforts to keep the nuclear deal afloat. It would help ensure trade between Iran and Europe by allowing buyers and sellers to exchange money without relying on the usual cross-border financial transactions.