EU diplomat visits Tehran today

TEHRAN: Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell was Monday due to visit Iran, said officials in Tehran and Brussels, on his first trip there since taking office, aiming to reduce rising tensions over the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme.

Borrel was set to meet President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani on the two-day trip, his office said in a statement.

The 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and a group of world powers has been crumbling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, and Washington has since stepped up sanctions and a campaign of "maximum pressure" against Iran.

Tehran has gradually stepped back from its own commitments under the deal, while military tensions with the United States have brought the arch foes to the brink of full-blown confrontation in recent weeks.

Borrell’s mission aims "to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis," said the office of the EU´s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The visit will allow Borrell "to convey the EU´s strong commitment to preserve" the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and to discuss cooperation between the EU and Iran, his office said.

Washington accuses Tehran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which Iran has always denied.

The deal struck in Vienna between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, the United States and Russia -- plus Germany, offered Tehran a partial reprieve from crippling international sanctions. In exchange, Iran agreed to drastically reduce its nuclear activities and to submit to a tailor-made inspection regime by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The US withdrawal from the deal and its re-imposition of biting sanctions deprived Iran of anticipated economic benefits. The renewed US sanctions have almost entirely isolated Iran from the international financial system, driven away oil buyers and plunged the country into a severe recession.