JCPOA Joint Commission Held in Austrian Capital (+Photo)

The Joint Commission of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), held a session in the Austrian capital on Friday at the level of deputy foreign ministers and political directors.

The JCPOA Joint Commission’s quarterly meeting in Vienna was co-chaired by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid.

Negotiators from Iran and the Group 4+1 (Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) have convened to discuss ways to save the JCPOA following the US moves against the deal.

Prior to the JCPOA Joint Commission meeting, Arqchi held talks with his Russian and Chinese counterparts on the latest developments surrounding the nuclear deal.

Iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Kazem Gharibabadi, in a tweet on Thursday, described the trilateral meeting as “constructive and positive”.

Speaking to reporters earlier, Araqchi said Iran’s policy of “strategic patience” has ended and it cannot bear unilateral commitment to the deal more than this.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced last Friday that the country plans to begin the second phase of measures to reduce its commitments under the JCPOA on July 7.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in the central city of Isfahan, Zarif pointed to Iran’s measures regarding the JCPOA and said in President Hassan Rouhani’s letter to the leaders of the JCPOA parties and in his letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Iran has announced two phases of measures.

The first phase started on May 8 and the second phase will begin on July 7, the Iranian top diplomat added.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, a 159-page nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) came into force in January 2016.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments under JCPOA on May 8, 2019.

Iran has also set a 60-day deadline for the remaining JCPOA parties to fulfill their undertakings.