EU mulls Iran’s response to ‘final’ nuclear draft agreement, triggers fall in oil prices
- The possibility of a deal which might lead to the lifting of US sanctions on Iran’s oil output of 2.5 million barrels per day has already helped trigger a fall in prices
- The deal has been moribund since the 2018 withdrawal of the United States under then president Donald Trump whose administration reimposed crippling sanctions
The European Union said on Tuesday that it was studying Iran’s response to a “final” draft agreement on reviving a 2015 nuclear accord with major powers it presented at talks in Vienna.
The United States had already said on Monday that it was telling EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of its response to the text he submitted on August 8.
The possibility of a deal which might lead to the lifting of US sanctions on Iran’s oil output of 2.5 million barrels per day has already helped trigger a fall in prices on world markets, with US oil futures dropping nearly three per cent to finish below US$90 a barrel.
A spokesperson for Borrell – who coordinated talks to bring Iran and the US back into the deal – said the Iranian response was received late on Monday.
“We are studying it and are consulting the other JCPOA participants and the US on the way ahead,” the spokesperson said, referring to the formal title of the nuclear pact.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported earlier on Tuesday that “an agreement will be concluded if the United States reacts with realism and flexibility” to Iran’s response.