Swaraj meets Iranian counterpart, discusses nuclear deal

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Monday urged all parties involved in the Iran nuclear deal to engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen following the US pulled out of the agreement.

Swaraj's statement comes in the backdrop of meeting with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is on a day-long visit to India.

On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced the Washington withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal which limited the country's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

"FM Zarif briefed about the discussions that Iran has undertaken with parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action following the US decision to withdraw from the Agreement. EAM conveyed that all parties to the Agreement should engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen with respect to the Agreement," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The Iran nuclear deal was signed between six countries in 2015 - Iran, US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France and China for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations to the country's nuclear programme.

Besides JCPOA, the two leaders also discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"The two sides positively assessed the implementation of decisions taken during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to India," the MEA stated.

It included bilateral cooperation in the areas of connectivity, energy, trade and promotion of people to people contacts.