UK joins France, Germany and US in urging Iran to 'fully comply' with nuclear deal
18 February 2021, 21:20
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and his counterparts in France, Germany and the United States have urged Iran to return to "full compliance" with the 2015 nuclear deal.
A joint statement released by the foreign secretary said the European countries, known as the E3, welcomed Washington's intention to return to diplomacy with Tehran.
Mr Raab and his counterparts held a meeting in Paris on Thursday, in which they expressed their "shared fundamental security interest" and stressed that Iran should never develop a nuclear weapon.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal has looked increasingly fragile since former US president Donald Trump pulled the United States out of it in 2018.
But the joint statement said that, if Iran comes back into "compliance" with its commitments under the deal, the US would do the same and would be prepared to engage in further discussions with the country.
"The E3 and the United States affirmed their shared objective of Iran's return to full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA," the statement said.
Last month, Iran began enriching uranium to levels unseen since before it signed the 2015 deal, which eased economic sanctions against the country in exchange for Tehran agreeing to curb its nuclear ambitions.
During the meeting the foreign ministers "expressed their shared concerns" over Tehran's commencement of uranium enrichment up to 20%, according to the statement.
"These activities have no credible civil justification," it said, "Uranium metal production is a key step in the development of a nuclear weapon."
The statement called on Iran not to "take any additional steps" amid Iranian plans to restrict access of monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
