The parties to the Iran nuclear deal held a virtual meeting today, Wednesday, in an attempt to calm matters before US President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month.

China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran participated in the meeting, and it was chaired by German diplomacy Helga Schmidt, Secretary General of the European External Action Service.

For the signatories to the agreement, the gamble is to call on Tehran to honor its commitments.

"This is an opportunity to loudly ask the Iranians to stop violating the agreement," one diplomat said, and not to miss the opportunity to return to diplomacy with Biden’s arrival in the presidency.

The same source added that the two-hour meeting "comes at a time that is not the best" because it is an anticipation period on the American side weeks before the inauguration of the president.

Biden had announced his desire to return to the agreement, warning of the outbreak of a race to build an atomic bomb in the Middle East.

But he did not reveal anything about his strategy.

Prior to the start of the meeting, Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter, "The talks will focus on how to preserve the nuclear deal and ensure its full and balanced implementation."

Earlier, Russia called on Iran to show "responsibility" to the maximum and not to fall into "auctions."

It is noteworthy that the Iranian nuclear agreement was concluded in 2015, and stipulated taking measures aimed at preventing Tehran from possessing an atomic bomb, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

However, the agreement has faltered since the US withdrawal from it in May 2018, under which Washington re-imposed economic sanctions on Tehran.

Tension and fluctuations


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currently, the file is witnessing new fluctuations since the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh at the end of last November, in a process Tehran said that Israeli and American intelligence were behind it.

In recent weeks, Tehran has tightened its stance, to the point that Paris, London and Berlin have expressed "deep concern" over the placement of 3 chains of centrifuges at the Natanz facility for uranium enrichment in central Iran.

The three capitals are also concerned about the Iranian parliament passing a controversial law on the nuclear file, which, if passed, would likely mean the end of the agreement.

According to local media, this text calls on the government to take immediate steps to produce and store "at least 120 kilograms annually of uranium enriched by 20%".

 It also calls for a "halt" of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In this tense context, last Saturday, Iran executed the opposition, Ruhollah Zam, who had refugee status in France, which sparked condemnation in the world.

On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that Washington's hostility towards his country will not stop when President Donald Trump leaves power.

Signs of openness


On the other hand, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opposes the bill that conservative MPs voted on, and intensifies signals of openness directed towards the next US government.

He said recently that once the economic sanctions are lifted, "we will also return to all the commitments we have made," calling on the US president-elect to open a new page by returning to the "situation that prevailed" before the presidency of Trump, who decided to withdraw from the agreement unilaterally.

Biden is scheduled to be sworn in and formally assume his duties on January 20.

The Iranian president returned to confirm today that his country is "very happy" with the approaching end of the Trump era, in which he adopted a policy of "maximum pressure" and sanctions.

Earlier, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief and security chief, called for continued work "to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal) alive."

Borrell insisted, a few days ago, that "this agreement is the only way to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power."

He added, "At this stage, despite political tensions," cooperation is proceeding normally "on the ground.