Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell on Monday is due to visit Iran, say officials in Tehran and Brussels, on his first trip there since taking office, aiming to reduce rising tensions over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

Borrel is set to meet President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani on the two-day trip, his office says in a statement.

The 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and a group of world powers has been crumbling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018, and Washington has since stepped up sanctions and a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran.

Tehran has gradually stepped back from its own commitments under the deal, while military tensions with the United States have brought the countries to the brink of full-blown confrontation in recent weeks.

Borrell’s mission aims “to de-escalate tensions and seek opportunities for political solutions to the current crisis,” says the office of the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

The visit will allow Borrell “to convey the EU’s strong commitment to preserve” the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and to discuss cooperation between the EU and Iran, his office says.

— AFP