- Title: On its fifth anniversary, the Iran nuclear deal hangs by a thread.
- Date: 13th July 2020
- Summary: VIENNA, AUSTRIA (FILE - JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MOHAMMAD ZARIF, SAYING: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, let me join Ms Mogherini in thanking members of the press for your patience, your perseverance and for keeping us company during these difficult negotiations." IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MOHAMMAD ZARIF AND THEN - EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF, FEDERICA MOGHERINI, LEAVING THE PODIUM The European Union called for a diplomatic response to save the nuclear deal. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen stressed the importance of deescalating violence and said that Europe had built resilient conversation channels with all the actors in the region and should therefore take a leading role. SEEON, GERMANY (FILE - JANUARY 06, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN ADDRESSING MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT, URSULA VON DER LEYEN, SAYING: "We are extremely concerned that Iran has announced it no longer feels bound by the deal. Iran must understand that it is in its own interest to come back to the nuclear deal." German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, holding emergency talks with his French and British counterparts, said Europe "wouldn't just stand and look" while Iran withdraws from the nuclear deal. BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE - JANUARY 7, 2020) (REUTERS) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS ARRIVING AT THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE BUILDING IN BRUSSELS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, HEIKO MAAS, SAYING: "We won't just stand and look while Teheran announces their withdrawal and that is why we are meeting our E3 partners today, to discuss the situation." MASS WALKING INTO BUILDING
- Embargoed: 27th July 2020 11:36
- Keywords: 2015 arms control agreement IAEA Iran enriching uranium Iran nuclear deal JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Iran
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA007CMNYZPJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE SEE 0112-IRAN-NUCLEAR/TIMELINE-2019 and 0104-IRAN-NUCLEAR/TIMELINE 2015-2019 FOR ADDITIONAL TIMELINES ON THE NUCLEAR DEAL
EDITORS NOTE: 14 JULY MARKS FIVE YEARS SINCE AGREEMENT REACHED WITH IRAN OVER ITS NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES
The Iran nuclear deal was left hanging by a thread in 2020 after Tehran announced it would abandon limitations on enriching uranium - a move Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned could be the beginning of the end of the nuclear accord.
The deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief was agreed on July 14, 2015, between Iran and six major world powers.
Iran had been expected to lay out its latest position on the deal earlier this year, but after the U.S. drone killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani there was a major escalation of hostilities with Washington.
Tehran had already been overstepping limits on its nuclear activities in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and the subsequent reimposition of sanctions that have crippled Iran's oil trade.
European governments have sought to rescue the accord.
Tehran said it would continue to cooperate with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog and said it can quickly reverse the steps it is taking if U.S. sanctions are removed.
On June 4 Iran freed US Navy vetran Michael White, who had been detained since 2018, as part of a deal in which the United States allowed Iranian-American physician Majid Taheri to visit Iran.
The prisoner swap was a rare instance of U.S.-Iranian cooperation, but a top Iranian security official denied that negotiations with Washington had taken place.
Iran issued an arrest warrant for U.S. President Donald Trump and 35 others over the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani on June 29, and has asked Interpol for help
Dismissed as a "propaganda stunt" by US Iran envoy Brian Hook, Iran said would continue to pursue the matter after Trump left office.
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