World powers express ‘serious concerns’ about Iran’s nuclear program

The world powers that remain party to the nuclear deal with Iran express “serious concerns” about Tehran’s violations of the pact, while acknowledging that time is running out to find a way to salvage it.

Wang Qun, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, tells reporters after talks in Vienna between the parties to the deal, including Iran, that they are “racing against time to work out a specific solution so as to safeguard” the landmark 2015 agreement.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tells reporters that Iran still remains “open to any initiative which can ensure Iran’s dividends of the JCPOA.”

“We are fully prepared to reverse the steps we have taken so far in return for the fulfillment of the other side’s commitments in the JCPOA,” he says.

In a statement following the meeting, the EU’s top official for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, says “serious concerns were expressed regarding the implementation of Iran’s nuclear commitments under the agreement.”

Borrell, who chairs the joint commission of the JCPOA, was represented at the meeting by EU official Helga Schmid.

He says that “participants also acknowledged that the re-imposition of US sanctions did not allow Iran to reap the full benefits arising from sanctions-lifting.”

He also says that “all participants reaffirmed the importance of preserving the agreement recalling that it is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture.”

— AP