EU’s Borrell says Iran nuclear deal very close

Politico- March 26th 2022

A nuclear deal with Iran is very close to being signed, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday.

The top EU diplomat told the Doha Forum international conference: “Now we are very close to an agreement and I hope it will be possible,” Reuters reported.

Negotiations are ongoing to revive a 2015 agreement that would see Tehran give up its ambitions to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for the removal of U.S. sanctions on its economy.

A deal would also return Iranian crude oil to global energy markets in the months ahead, helping to offset market turmoil and price spikes in the wake of wide-ranging sanctions on the Russian economy following the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia had thrown up last-minute demands over the deal in moves that some experts saw as aimed at stymying a stabilization of the markets through the restoration of Iranian oil exports.

EU diplomats are set to meet their Iranian counterparts later Saturday to discuss progress on the deal.