VIENNA, March 6. /TASS/. The European Union plans to establish a nuclear security center in Iran, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said following a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program, which involved Iran and five international mediators (Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and China).

"We discussed issues concerning cooperation with Iran in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy," said Ulyanov, who is Russia’s Governor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors. "We are the leaders in this field but the European Union has taken steps recently in order to strengthen its position. In particular, the EU plans to establish a nuclear security center in Iran," the senior Russian diplomat noted.

Iran nuclear deal issue

In 2015, Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China - and Germany) agreed on the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which particularly stipulated the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. He said that old sanctions on Iran would be restored and new ones would be introduced in case Tehran attempted to pursue its nuclear ambitions. The first batch of new US sanctions on Iran took effect on August 7 and the second one became effective on November 5.

In the wake of Trump’s decision, the leaders of Great Britain, Germany and France called on other participants in the deal to continue fulfilling it. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran would not abandon the JCPOA and would continue to comply with its obligations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA violated the United Nations Security Council’s resolution. He added that Russia would seek to maintain the agreement despite US move to resume sanctions against Iran.