Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has expressed appreciation for New Delhi’s efforts to bring P5+1 nations — Russia, the US, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany — and Tehran together to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the ‘Iran Nuclear Deal’.
Tehran said in an official statement on Monday that Abdollahian briefed the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar about the progress in the JCPOA negotiations.
As per the statement, the Iranian FM also said that Tehran remains committed to implement the agreements made during his visit to India in June this year, including boosting economic ties and increasing the trade through the port of Chabahar.
Abdollahian also reiterated his previous appeal to hold a joint economic commission meeting between New Delhi and Tehran in order to finalize the 'Preferential Trade Agreement' pact between the two nations, as per the statement.
The Indian government, which has committed more than $500 million towards the development of Chabahar, has backed the port’s full operationalization since the resumption of JCPOA negotiations last April.
“We have always supported the resolution of Iran's nuclear issue and our support will continue in the future” Jaishankar said during his call with the Iranian counterpart.
The Indian FM further said that both the nations will witness the "comprehensive and long-term development of relations" if they pursue "important issues" such as the joint economic commission.
Former President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the pact in 2018, thus casting the shadow of American sanctions against any foreign or domestic entity involved in trade with Tehran.
The threat of western sanctions in carrying out trade with Iran affected the interest of Indian companies in Tehran amid fears they would be slapped with “secondary sanctions” if they boosted economic ties, even though the New Delhi’s investment in the port was exempted from sanctions.
The western sanctions also led to New Delhi reducing the imports of crude oil from Iran, which at one point ranked as India’s top supplier of energy.
Expectations around reviving the 2015-era nuclear deal have shot up after the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief Joseph Borell presented what he termed as a “final text” of the negotiated agreement on 8 August.
The revised JCPOA pact is currently being indirectly negotiated between the US and Iran through the EU.
Tehran has sought guarantees that entering back the agreement would enhance economic opportunities for Iran by lifting of western sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has urged the global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to drop investigation into three Iranian nuclear sites -- Turquzabad, Varamin, and Marivan — as part of the final agreement.
The US said last week that the probe into alleged presence of uranium at the three sites, which it says was previously undeclared by Tehran, isn’t linked to the reviving of the nuclear deal.
The renewed negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran got stalled in March this year, owing to differences between Washington and Tehran, only to resume back last month.
Iran is seeking closure of the UN nuclear agency's investigation of its nuclear activities among guarantees demanded by Tehran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a senior Iranian official said on Monday.