The European Union will extend indefinitely the time limit to resolve disputes in the Iran 2015 nuclear deal to avoid having to go to the UN Security Council or triggering new sanctions, the EU’s top diplomat said.
“We are in agreement not to go directly to a strict time limit which would oblige (us) to go to the Security Council,” the EU’s Josep Borrell told reporters during a visit to Tehran on Monday.
In remarks broadcast on Tuesday, he said “the willingness is not to start a process that goes to the end of JCPOA, but to keep it alive,” referring to the Iran accord by its formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Borrell, who is chair of the Iran deal, was notified in January by Paris, London and Berlin that they had triggered the dispute mechanism, in theory starting a 15-day process to resolve issues with Iran. There are some questions over when the 15-day period should start because Iran has not formally recognized the consultation process, Reuters said, citing officials.