European Union FM says Iran talks stuck, days after suggesting deal imminent

BRUSSELS — Talks between world powers and Iran on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are stuck, with Tehran throwing up an obstacle after Russia obstructionism was overcome, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says today.

“The JCPOA, it’s not getting to an end,” Borrell tells the European Parliament after returning from a trip to the Gulf, referring to the accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“It would be a shame not to reach some sort of an agreement when we’re so near to reaching one. But I cannot guarantee that we will reach an agreement,” he says.

Iran began retreating from most of its commitments under the accord after the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and began reimposing crippling economic sanctions.

Since last year, efforts have been made to bring back the deal, with Borrell’s deputy Enrique Mora leading coordination efforts.

Borrell’s downbeat assessment of the JCPOA talks came after comments he made to reporters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum over the weekend, when he said that an agreement could happen in “a matter of days.”