The European Union Wednesday urged Iran for full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resolve outstanding issues and called for a quick resumption of Iran nuclear talks in Vienna. EU High Representative Josep Borrell expressed this in a statement following his meeting in the margins of the UN General Assembly with Foreign Minister of Iran Hussein Amir-Abdollahian in New York Tuesday evening. The discussion focused on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal and Borrell stressed the need for full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to resolve outstanding issues, according to a statement released by his office in Brussels Wednesday. Borrell reiterated his "concern about the overall trajectory of the Iranian nuclear program and underlined once again the great importance of a quick resumption of the Vienna talks to bring the JCPOA back to full implementation." The Iranian Foreign Minister assured of the willingness to resume negotiations at an early date, noted the statement. They also discussed EU-Iran bilateral cooperation, including on climate change, trade, security and migration and touched upon human rights issues. On Afghanistan, Borrell underlined the EU's willingness to engage actively with regional partners to address the challenges of the present situation. Both agreed on the interest to cooperate to avoid threats to regional stability. Borrell in an earlier telephone call to Amir-Abdollahian on Aug. 27 had stressed the "great importance" of a quick resumption of the Vienna talks in order to get the Iranian nuclear agreement (JCPOA) back on track. Borrell said Wednesday Iran's top diplomat had assured him at their first meeting that Tehran was ready to restart talks on the nuclear deal soon. EU-mediated negotiations began in Vienna in April aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers — an accord left hanging by a thread after former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and ramped up sanctions. The discussions, which involve the remaining parties seeking to persuade Washington to rejoin the deal and Iran to return to its nuclear commitments, have been stalled since June. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said he expected a resumption of the talks "in the coming weeks", without giving an exact date. The 2015 nuclear agreement offered Iran a reduction of UN sanctions in return for strict limits on its nuclear program, but Tehran has progressively stepped away from its commitments in the wake of Trump's withdrawal and imposition of sanctions. — Agencies
