Iran, nuclear pact partners to meet as tensions rise in Persian Gulf

Senior Iranian officials will meet with their European counterparts in a last-ditch attempt to save the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The Associated Press reported Friday that officials from Germany, the United Kingdom and France, as well as Russia and China, will meet with Iran’s officials to discuss the possibility of those countries providing relief for Iran from U.S. sanctions.

{mosads}Iran has pledged to increase its enrichment of nuclear fuel unless the remaining countries in the nuclear agreement, which President Trump pulled the U.S. out of last year, unless the remaining signatories provide the country with some relief from crippling U.S. economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

Trump told reporters at the Group of 20 summit in Japan on Friday that he was in “no rush” to meet with Iran’s leaders and reach an agreement to avert war even as the U.S. reportedly called off a military strike against Iran just days ago.

“There’s absolutely no time pressure,” Trump said, according to the AP. “I think that in the end, hopefully, it’s going to work out. If it does, great. And if doesn’t, you’ll be hearing about it.”

The remaining European countries in the nuclear accord now face a July 7 deadline to meet Iran’s demands on sanction relief, or Iran has pledged to begin enrichment that would violate the deal.