The European Union on Tuesday launched work on a nine-point economic plan to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive after the abrupt withdrawal of the United States.
Europe is scrambling to come up with ways to persuade Iran to stick with the landmark 2015 agreement despite US President Donald Trump ditching it a week ago.
Tehran has warned it is prepared to resume “industrial-scale” uranium enrichment “without any restrictions” unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain the economic benefits it gained from the nuclear agreement despite Washington reimposing sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany—the three European signatories to pact—in Brussels on the last leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour that also took in Russia and China, the two other signatory nations.
Mogherini said EU experts were aiming to come up with concrete proposals in the coming weeks on nine key issues including ensuring Iran could sell its oil and gas products and have access to international finance.
“I believe it’s a good start. We’re not there, we’re beginning the process,” Zarif told reporters after the talks. But he warned that Tehran expected to see progress towards the guarantees it wants “within the next few weeks”.