In a tweet Sunday night, UK Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt, expressed his satisfaction at being back in Tehran, adding that he had held “constructive discussion with [his] Iranian counterpart Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi, covering the Iran nuclear deal and opportunities to widen bilateral cooperation.”
He also added that he had raised Britain’s concerns for Iranian dual-national consular cases.
Burt’s visit to Tehran comes as the May 12 deadline looms over the fate of the JCPOA when US President Donald Trump will decide whether to extend waivers of economic sanctions on Iran, a US commitment under the nuclear agreement. Trump has been aggressively railing against the JCPOA, and during his recent press conference with French President Macron, he threatened Tehran with “bigger problems than they ever had before” should it resume its nuclear program if Washington decided to withdraw from the deal.
Macron held a telephone conversation with President Rouhani last night, during which he stressed the European Union’s, and in particular, France’s commitment to the JCPOA. Rouhani told Macron that Iran would not agree to abide by any commitments beyond what is stipulated in the nuclear deal.
In a statement issued by British Prime Minister Theresa May's office on Sunday, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany voiced their commitment to the 2015 nuclear accord.
Araghchi made a trip to London back in February, during which he conferred with British officials on regional and international issues, including the Syrian situation, as well as issues related to the implementation of the nuclear deal.
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