European Union High Representative Josep Borrell is scheduled to visit Iran on Monday on his first trip since taking office, with the aim of reducing tensions over the country’s nuclear program, according to officials in Tehran and Brussels.
Borrell will meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani during the two-day trip, AFP reported.
The E.U. foreign-policy chief seeks “to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis,” said the office of the E.U.’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The visit also seeks “to convey the E.U.’s strong commitment to preserve” the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to the statement.
In January, Britain, France and Germany triggered a dispute resolution mechanism of the JCPOA that could lead to the reimposition of U.N. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The Trump administration withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and increased sanctions; Iran has been reducing its compliance with its commitments under the deal.
Separately, Iran is preparing to launch a scientific observation satellite in the coming days, Iranian Space Agency head Morteza Berari said, according to the AFP. Berari did not specify when the launch would take place.
The 113-kilogram satellite will be launched by a Simorgh rocket to an altitude of 530 kilometers, and will make 15 orbits a day.
The U.S. sees the satellite launch as possibly being part of Iran’s long-range ballistic-missile program.
