VP to Represent Iran in Int'l N. Cooperation Conference in Brussels

Heading a delegation, Salehi left Tehran for Brussels on Sunday to attend the meeting to be held on November 26-27.

That will be the first seminar after the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and return of the country's unilateral sanctions against Iran.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid will address the meeting.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last Thursday reaffirmed Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) even months after Washington's withdrawal from the historic nuclear deal.

"Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," the IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano said, addressing a quarterly meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors.

"The IAEA continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran continue," Amano added.

The US Treasury Department announced all sanctions on Iran lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal would be back in force on November 5.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the sweeping sanctions will see 700 people blacklisted, including people who were granted relief under the 2015 deal, as well as over 300 new names.

The Trump administration earlier agreed to allow eight countries to continue purchasing Iran’s crude oil after Washington’s sanctions on Tehran took place.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini underlined earlier this month that the EU was trying hard to preserve the JCPOA, and said that efforts were underway to implement the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

"The EU Special Purpose Vehicle for bypassing the US sanctions on Iran is still unknown, but the work was being carried out in a positive manner," Mogherini added.

She reiterated that the involvement of the finance ministers of the E3 (France, Germany, UK) is of key importance at this stage, and said, "They are working hard to finalize it; I cannot tell you a date, but I can tell you that work is continuing and is progressing in a positive manner."

Her remarks came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the Europeans to speed up their measures to provide Tehran with the economic benefits promised after the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, warning that his country might not continue compliance with its undertakings if it saw no merits in the agreement.

"The EU and other members who have remained under the nuclear deal know that the status quo may not continue without meeting the Islamic Republic of Iran's needs and without the economic benefits that the nuclear deal has for the country," Zarif said.

He added that Tehran had several times announced that it had multiple options and "therefore we choose our options based on national interests and the mechanism specified in the country".

Zarif's Deputy Araqchi had also earlier described protection of the 2015 nuclear deal as the responsibility of all signatories, saying that the US withdrawal from the internationally-accepted agreement discredited Europe and the UN Security Council.

"The Europeans should know that the EU and the UNSC have been left with no credit after the US pullout of the nuclear deal, and how one can negotiate in the future with those who have put their creditability under question for the interests of an individual, meaning Trump," Araqchi said, addressing a forum in Tehran earlier this month.

He underlined that protection of the nuclear deal is the responsibility of all its members, and said, "Certainly, the current conditions cannot continue unless Europe will be ready to pay the costs and adopt serious measures to protect the nuclear deal."

Araqchi downplayed the impacts of the US sanctions on Iran, noting that despite some difficulties, they cannot bring the country to its knees and force it to surrender to enemies.

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