Iran and Europe; a new beginning
By Bahram Qassemi
Former spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry
In recent days, foreign sources, followed by official sources, have reported on a forthcoming joint meeting between Iran and three European countries at the deputy ministerial level. The news itself, without any premature judgment on its outcome, signals a new beginning, which had been gradually fading into oblivion with the end of president Rouhani’s government. The government led president Raisi did not believe in continuing the talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and argued that the issue was a done deal and non-negotiable. If talks were to take place, they should solely focus on lifting sanctions, making any mention of the JCPOA meaningless and unwelcome. In fact, the word JCPOA seemed to be a “taboo” term in domestic discourse.
The insistence on this approach was extremely serious. During the then-Iranian political deputy’s trip to the capitals of three European countries after a lengthy hiatus (apparently initiated by the French side and coordinated with the other two capitals), a concerted effort was made to steer clear of mentioning the JCPOA, instead focusing solely on lifting sanctions, and nothing else.
Page 7