EU and Iran affirm support for nuclear deal

The European Union and Iran on Monday affirmed their support for the nuclear deal signed in 2015, saying they aim to keep it alive despite US President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the pact, The Associated Press reported.

Ahead of EU-Iran talks on civil nuclear cooperation in Brussels, EU Energy Commissioner Arias Canete said the deal is “crucial for the security of Europe, of the region and the entire world.”

He said the agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions is working and that “we do not see any credible peaceful alternative,” according to AP.

Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi said, “I hope that we can enjoy the niceties of this deal and not let it go unfulfilled.”

Salehi warned that should the deal break down, it would be “very ominous, the situation would be unpredictable.”

Trump withdrew in May from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which he has said is “the worst deal ever negotiated”.

The US has since imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran, the latest of which went into effect two weeks ago.