JCPOA Must Stay If US Wants Talks with Iran

"We are always in favor of talks, the more people talk, the more people understand each other the better, on the basis of clarity and on the basis of respect," Mogherini said as she arrived for a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Helsinki, AFP reported. 

But she added "first and foremost what is existing needs to be preserved" -- specifically the 2015 deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

"We will always advocate for the full respect by all sides of the UNSC resolutions and that includes the JCPOA," she said.

At the G7 summit in Biarritz, US President Donald Trump showed openness to his French counterpart's proposal of a summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper followed up on Wednesday by urging Tehran to engage, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Washington must first return to the the deal and halt "economic terrorism" against his country.

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