EU Foreign Affairs Rep Holds Call w/Foreign Min On JCPoA & IAEA

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell held a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian earlier today. The call comes days after a Reuters story reporting that the EU is planning to maintain sanctions on Iranian ballistic missiles beyond their current expiry date in an effort to curtail Tehran's nuclear programme, risking a retaliation from Iran.

• The Iranian Foreign Ministry statedthat Borrell "...welcomed the ongoing cooperation and negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and evaluated its continuation as useful and positive."
• According to the Ministry, Borrell also "...said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), protecting its structure and continuation of relevant constructive talks, on the one side, and the process of normalization of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, on the other, are significant to the European Union."
• Reuters: "Keeping the EU sanctions would reflect Western efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them despite the collapse of the 2015 [JCPoA] deal"