TEHRAN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said here Sunday that the political support of the Europeans to the Iranian nuclear deal is "not enough."
"With the exit of the United States from the nuclear agreement, expectations from the EU are high to preserve the achievements of the deal," Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting EU's Energy Chief Miguel Arias Canete.
"Under the current circumstances, the political support of Europe to the nuke deal is not sufficient," Zarif said.
"EU should take further practical steps to continue economic cooperation with Iran," he said, adding that "EU should boost investments in Iran."
He expressed doubt that the obligation of Europe to implement the deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is in contradiction with the withdrawal of major European companies from Iran's projects after U.S. pulled out.
For his part, Canete said that following the U.S. exit from the deal, Europeans have unified to save the JCPOA.
The political resolve of the EU is to implement the JCPOA and the continuation of European companies' cooperation with the Islamic republic, he said.
The U.S. exit from the deal has caused problems to Europe, however, the EU's message is to protect the accord and its implementation, he added.
Earlier, Iran's foreign minister and his team of negotiators expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing talks with major European countries over the fate of the JCPOA, but said that "everything depends on the results of the talks in the next weeks."
Iran pushes the EU for the revival of "the blocking statute" which is a 1996 regulation that prohibits EU companies from complying with the U.S. sanctions.
Canete arrived in Tehran on Friday for a two-day visit to reassure Iran that the EU wants to keep open trade and cooperation with Iran despite the U.S. decision to pull out.
