European Union paves way for revival of Iran nuclear deal ahead of Biden's official entry

European Union Foreign Ministers have agreed not to set fresh preconditions on a revival of the Iran Nuclear Deal, hoping Tehran and Washington would be able to come back into full compliance with the agreement. The decision was made as EU foreign ministers that are signatory to the deal convened for the first time in the year hoping for an agreement between the two rivals. However, UK asserted that the issue need not be raised until significant progress has been made on the US and Iran coming back into full compliance.

Heiko Mass, Germany’s foreign minister urged Iran no the squander the opportunity provided by the incoming Biden administration. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Mass said that the next weeks and months could decide whether the deal could be saved or not. He also emphasised that deal would answers if long-standing disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme could be solved through negotiations. Adding to that, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab opined that it was important Iran did not get ahead with "further dilution" of its commitments to the deal.

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'Would join within an hour of US' 

Previously, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said his country would start complying with the 2015 nuclear deal arrangements within an hour of the United States rejoining the pact. According to The Guardian, Rouhani added that Iran would not accept any changes to the deal and will continue its ballistic missile programme. The Iranian President's remarks came a day before the meeting between Iran and European signatories of the deal and on the same day as the US electoral college members cast their votes to cement incoming US President Joe Biden's win. 

Biden has vowed to return to the Obama-era nuclear deal as soon as he resumes power. The deal, signed in 2015 between Iran and other major world powers, including the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia, and Germany (P5+1), saw Washington lifting economic sanctions against Tehran and in return, the Islamic Republic agreed to bring down its uranium enrichment programme. However, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the pact in 2018, calling the structure of the deal "decaying" and "rotten", despite the European members objecting to the move.

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