EU envoy in Iran for talks

Josep Borrell, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, arrived in Iran for talks with senior officials on multiple issues, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday.

Borrell will meet President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani to discuss the course of affairs concerning the country nuclear programME, the Iran-EU relations as well as regional and international issues, Xinhua news agency quoted Mousavi as saying.

The spokesman expressed hope that Borrell's "important" visit will result in further understandings and de-escalation of tensions between Iran and some Western states.

Borrell's visit to Iran, for the first time since taking office in December 2019, comes amid escalating disputes over the country's nuclear programme.

On January 16, Borrell met Zarif on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India.

During the meeting, Zarif urged the European countries to fulfil their commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

In May 2018, the Islamic Republic began a set of nuclear counter-measures in retaliation for the US' departure from the historic 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and major world powers, Press TV reported.

As part of the retaliatory steps, Iran stopped recognizing the limits set by the deal on the level of its enrichment activities and the volume of its heavy water reservoir.

On January 5, the country said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development.

( With inputs from IANS )