EU holds rare emergency meeting to save Iran nuclear deal

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The European Union convened a rare emergency session in Belgium Friday in an effort to hold together the fledgling 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council staged the meeting to discuss ramifications of the new U.S.-Iran crisis and how it impacts the landmark accord. The meeting, which was set for Friday afternoon, will include NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

"I will debrief the member states about the contacts I have had with [U.S. Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo, with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif and with the Prime Minister of Iraq Adil Abd Al-Mahdi," said EU Vice President Josep Borrell.

"Given the threatening escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran, Europe is now playing an important role we have to take full advantage of this situation," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that he hoped the meeting would result in a unified course of action for EU states.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, but EU officials have said they want to save it. The deal agreed to lift sanctions against Tehran in exchange for Iran limiting its nuclear activities.

Iran took multiple steps last year to distance itself from the pact, including exceeding the limit of stockpiled uranium. After the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani last week, Tehran said it would no longer abide by uranium provisions of the deal. Zarif said, however, the move could be reversed in negotiations.