Iranian foreign minister to start a diplomatic tour aimed at saving the nuclear deal

Tabnak – Days after US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian foreign minister is about to start a diplomatic tour in order to save the deal with the remaining parties. This comes as the European countries express their desire to continue implementing the deal.

In this vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will begin a tight diplomatic trip on Sunday for negotiations on how to save the JCPOA in the wake of the US withdrawal from the multilateral accord.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi announced on Friday that Zarif will travel to Beijing, Moscow and Brussels for intensive talks on the possibility of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provided that the Iranian nation’s interests are guaranteed.

Zarif will fly to China on Sunday, before travelling to Moscow for talks with Russian officials, he said.

The Iranian minister will then visit Brussels to attend a meeting with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Britain, as well as EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, the spokesman added.

The trip comes as British Prime Minister Theresa May has told Donald Trump that the UK and its EU partners will remain "firmly committed" to the Iran nuclear deal.

"The prime minister reiterated the government’s position on the Iran nuclear deal, noting that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the deal is upheld," Downing Street announced in a statement following May's phone conversation with Trump on Friday.

The British premier discussed the potential impact of US sanctions on the companies currently operating in Iran and the two sides agreed to hold further talks over the issue, the statement added.

Earlier on the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement despite the US move to pull out of it.

The German chancellor had said a day before that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for protection, urging European Union member states to take the bloc’s destiny in their own hands.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire repeated a similar position on Friday, saying that European states have come to realize that they cannot submit to American decisions.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has reaffirmed the 28-nation bloc's determination to make sure the Iran nuclear agreement is respected despite the US president's decision to abandon it.

In another related development, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov announced that the Russian president plans to meet Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi on Monday to discuss the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal.

In a speech from the White House on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and seeking nukes before announcing the US withdrawal from 2015 agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the controversial decision, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran weighs plans to remain in the agreement with the other five parties, provided that they ensure full benefits for Iran.