The signatories to the Iranian nuclear deal said Monday, “They want to respond positively” to the possibility of the United States returning to the negotiating table, while the Europeans urged Iran not to do anything that harms the future of the agreement.
The foreign ministers of Europe, China, Russia and Iran have met to try to calm things while waiting for the new US administration to assume power, while Iran takes measures that distance it from its obligations under the agreement.
The meeting took place in the virtual domain due to the epidemic.
The ministers agreed, according to a joint statement, "to continue the dialogue (...) and discussed the possibility of the United States returning (to the agreement), stressing that they are ready to respond in a positive way within the framework of a joint effort."
The Iranian file is witnessing new tension since the assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh at the end of November. In the wake of this attack attributed to Israel, the hardliners in Tehran vowed to respond, further weakening the agreement concluded in Vienna in 2015.
In early December, Paris, London and Berlin expressed "deep concern" over the installation of three new sets of advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment in Natanz, central Iran.
The three countries are concerned that Iran´s parliament has passed a controversial law on the nuclear issue, which, if passed, is likely to lead to the end of the agreement.
This text calls on the government to significantly boost the nuclear program and end inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"I have made it clear that Iran should not implement the recently announced extensions within its nuclear program," the British foreign secretary wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Dominic Raab added: "Such a step would jeopardize the prospects for progress that we hope to see in 2021."
He also called on his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, not to "miss the last opportunity" of installing a new president in Washington through "tactical maneuvers."
The Iranian president said Thursday that he is confident that US President-elect Joe Biden will return to US commitments under the agreement from which Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech, "I have no doubt that the steadfastness of the Iranian people during these three years will force the next American administration to submit to the people (in Iran) and return to its obligations, and the sanctions will be broken."
Joe Biden, who will be installed on January 20, has confirmed his readiness to return to the Vienna Agreement.
