• Charles Michel: I spoke with Rouhani, EU supports full implementation of JCPOA

BERLIN/PARIS: Iran’s latest moves jeopardize a return of the United States to the nuclear deal, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Thursday.

“The more pressure is applied, the more difficult it gets to find a political solution,” Maas said.

Talks “are being significantly complicated at the moment because Iran obviously does not seek de-escalation but escalation — and this is playing with fire.”

Iran said on Monday it will block snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog from next week if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal do not uphold their obligations, a challenge to US President Joe Biden’s hope of reviving the accord.

European Council President Charles Michel said on Thursday that he had spoken to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and that the European Union backed full implementation of the ‘JCPOA’ nuclear deal agreed in 2015 between Iran and major world powers.

“Preserving a space for diplomacy, underpinned by positive steps, is crucial at this stage,” Michel tweeted.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week demanded “action, not words” from the United States if it wanted to rejoin the deal, which curbed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Reuters