Iran keeps high-level contacts with the EU despite the US decision on the nuclear deal

Tabnak – As the European countries are determined to find a way out of US pressures after Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, high-level contacts between Iran and the Europeans are on the rise. In this vein, Iranian president is due to visit Switzerland and Austria.

President Hassan Rouhani will travel to Switzerland and Austria at the invitation of the European countries’ presidents, IRNA news agency reported on Monday, citing the presidential office.

Rouhani will travel first to Bern for a two-day visit in the first half of the Iranian month of Tir (June 22-July 6), the presidential office's director for communications and information Parviz Esmaeili said.

He will meet Swiss President Alain Berset and supervise the signing of documents for cooperation in various political, economic, and cultural areas, besides attending a gathering of Swiss-based Iranian nationals.

Rouhani will then head to Vienna where he will meet Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and similarly oversee the signing of several documents for cooperation. A number of ministers, political and economic officials, as well as entrepreneurs and private sector representatives will accompany Rouhani on the visit.

The visit comes in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. European countries have been scrambling to save the deal and ensure that Iran remains in the agreement through pledging incentives to the Islamic Republic.

The European Union has improved relations with Iran since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) went into force in early 2016, and promised to uphold their side of the bargain despite the US pullout from the deal.

Rouhani’s visit also comes on the heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tour of Europe to persuade European leaders to abandon the Iran deal and impose new sanctions on the country similar to the US.

In line with Rouhani’s upcoming visit, Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Markus Leitner said on Monday that the cooperation between his country and Iran will continue, adding that a great deal of works have been done in order to protect the European investments in Iran, the results of which will be evident in the coming weeks.

Underlining that Swiss has always supported the JCPOA and wants the deal to be successful, he said that according to the IAEA reports, Iran has been committed to its obligations under the nuclear deal and the US decision to withdraw from the deal is a cause for regret.