DUBAI, June 5. /TASS/. Russia, China and Iran have called on Western countries to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program, according to a joint statement dedicated to the sixth meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.

"The People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation are convinced that it is time for Western countries to demonstrate political will, stop the continued cycle of escalation that has been going on for almost two years and take the necessary steps towards the revival of the JCPOA. This can still be done," the statement reads.

The three countries believe that the nuclear deal’s resumption could make it possible to resolve the majority of issues related to Iran’s nuclear program, particularly by providing IAEA inspectors with broad monitoring tools. Russia, China and Iran are confident that a fully operational nuclear deal would help ease tensions, benefitting all parties.

Moscow, Beijing and Tehran emphasized that the JCPOA provisions demanding Iran ensure the civilian character of its nuclear program remained valid. In this regard, the three countries highlighted the need for the international community to treat Iran like any other party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons developing its own nuclear industry.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed by Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France) and Germany in 2015. The future of the deal was called into question after the United States withdrew from it unilaterally in 2018 under the Trump administration. Meanwhile, incumbent US President Joe Biden has repeatedly signaled that Washington was ready to return to the nuclear deal. In April 2021, Russia, Britain, Germany, China, the United States and France entered negotiations with Iran in Vienna in an effort to restore the JCPOA to its original form. However, the talks ended without any result in November 2022.