FMs of Iran, remaining JCPOA parties to meet in Vienna on Friday

Foreign ministers of Iran and the five remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal are scheduled to meet in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Friday to discuss ways of maintaining the international accord after the US’s withdrawal.

IRNA reported on Tuesday that foreign ministers of Iran, Germany, France, Russia, the UK and China will hold their first meeting of the Joint Commission monitoring the implementation of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), since Washington’s pullout in May.

“At the meeting, which will be held at the request of Iran, foreign ministers of Iran and five world powers will discuss a European package of proposals and mechanisms to protect the agreement,” IRNA said.

Earlier this month, experts from the six countries held a meeting behind closed doors in Tehran on the fate of the Iran deal.

A Joint Commission meeting had also been held at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Vienne in late May.

The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi and Helga Schmid, the secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS). International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano also attended the meeting.

Araqchi said on June 23 that the Islamic Republic expected the EU to put forward its package by the end of June.

SS