The Friday meeting will be held in Vienna as the first of its kind after the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA. The package is aimed at convincing the Islamic Republic to remain in the nuclear deal after the US withdrawal, a report by ISNA said.
Iran and the three European states (France, Germany, and the UK) began their talks to preserve the JCPOA immediately after US president Donald Trump’s decision to exit the multi-national deal. After a short while, Russia and China joined the talks within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission.
Now, after two months of various meetings held at the level of experts and political directors in Brussels and Vienna, the European states are expected to deliver their support package to Iran with the aim of guaranteeing the country’s benefits under the nuclear deal.
The expert-level talks among Iran and the three European states began after a meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers in Brussels on May 14.
Then, the joint commission of the JCPOA convened for the first time at the level of deputy ministers in Vienna on May 25.
Before the US withdrawal, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in at least 11 reports that Iran has remained fully faithful to its commitments under the JCPOA. After the US withdrawal, the IAEA released a new report retreating Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal.
A main feature of the new package which distinguishes it from previous packages delivered to Iran at various political and diplomatic points is that it has been built on the results of several expert-level meetings by delegations from the involved sides including all economic, financial, nuclear and political considerations.
Iranian officials have said they will begin to study the package as soon as they receive it and will decide whether or not to remain in the JCPOA based on the content of the package.
Though the details of the Europe’s support package is still unknown, some media reports speculate that the Europeans have guaranteed purchasing at least one million barrels of Iran’s oil through a special channel. The reports added that the Europeans have also agreed to make a $10 billion investment in Iran.
