EU, Iran pledge deeper ties after high-level EU visit to Tehran

The European Union said on Saturday it would support Iran’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation but it urged Tehran to refrain from further ballistic missile tests after the highest-level talks with Iran in more than a decade.

Seeking to capitalise on last year’s nuclear deal, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini led a team of seven European commissioners on a one-day trip to Tehran where they agreed to cooperate on everything from banking to energy to transport issues.

“It is in the European interest and in the Iranian interest to make sure that banks engage and feel confident to come to Iran and facilitate and support this new economic engagement,” Mogherini said at a news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.

With a view to opening a full EU diplomatic mission in Iran an EU liaison team will be sent to Tehran, Mogherini and Zarif said in a joint statement.

“Today is a new beginning in Iran and EU relations. We hope this cooperation between the Iranian nation and European Union brings about shared interests and global development,” Zarif was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

He also urged the United States to remove obstacles to Iran gaining access to the global financial system, saying this was the main goal of its nuclear talks with world powers.

The EU executive’s visit comes on the heels of trips to Tehran by European governments seeking to revive ties with Iran after the July 2015 nuclear deal.

The EU and Iran will exchange business missions in the second half of this year and Brussels will assist Iran in becoming a member of the WTO, the statement said.