Iran, Austria Ink Deal to Boost Art, Cultural Cooperation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – High-ranking officials from Iran and Austria signed an agreement to boost cooperation between the two sides in various fields of art and culture.
The document was signed at the end of the second round of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, in Tehran on Sunday.
During the first round of their talks earlier today, Zarif and Schallenberg praised the close relations between Tehran and Vienna and called for further efforts to cement the ties.
The two top diplomats also exchanged views about the latest efforts to save the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the non-commitment of the European parties to the international accord.
Schallenberg and his accompanying delegation also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The trip is in connection with the European Union’s efforts to mediate the nuclear dispute between Iran and the US, according to Austria’s German-language daily newspaper Die Presse.
In remarks last month, Schallenberg had said, “When the belligerents aren’t willing to approach the negotiating table, we can bring the negotiating table to them.”
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear deal.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal – France, Britain and Germany – have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.