Remaining parties to Iran nuclear deal meet as accord nears collapse

The signatories to the faltering 2015 Iran nuclear deal meet in Vienna on Friday with the survival of the agreement at stake after Tehran vowed to continue to breach the deal’s limits on its nuclear program, AFP reports.

Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran will take part in the meeting, which is the first time the six parties will have gathered in this format since July. Since May, Iran has taken a series of measures, including stepping up uranium enrichment, with another such move likely in early January. Tehran says it has the right to take these measures in retaliation for the US’s withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions.

Despite the mounting tension, Britain, France and Germany are unlikely to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism on Friday when their diplomats attend the joint commission meeting chaired by senior EU official Helga-Maria Schmid.

On the eve of the meeting, Britain, France and Germany accused Iran of developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, but Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the allegation as “desperate falsehood.”