EU Support for JCPOA Good, But Not Enough: Iran’s FM

Speaking upon his arrival in the Italian capital of Rome on Thursday, Zarif said he will reiterate in his address to the Rome MED-Mediterranean Dialogues that the JCPOA is not negotiable.

The Iranian top diplomat said he will also underline that, as Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has said, the EU’s support for the nuclear deal is appropriate but that more practical measures should be taken by the bloc in this regard.

Back in October, Ayatollah Khamenei described the stances adopted by some European governments against recent comments made by US President Donald Trump against Iran and the JCPOA as good but insufficient.  

“The Europeans, who have realized that the JCPOA is to their benefit and that of the US, voiced their opposition to the US president’s remarks about tearing up the JCPOA,” the Leader said, adding, “This is good but not enough.”

Zarif further said that his speech will also touch upon regional crises and the fact that although the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group has been defeated militarily, it is necessary that Daesh ideology must also be confronted all over the world.

On the sidelines of this conference, the Iranian foreign minister added, he will hold talks with the foreign ministers of Italy and a number of other countries.

Zarif will be a keynote speaker at the Rome MED-Mediterranean Dialogues.

The conference is an annual high-level initiative co-organized by Italy’s Foreign Ministry and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).

The third edition of the Rome MED - Mediterranean Dialogues is scheduled to be held in Rome from November 30 to December 2.

On Friday, Zarif would leave Italy for the Azeri capital of Baku to take part in the Heart of Asia Conference.