Austria's Schallenberg visits Iran, meets Zarif

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday in Tehran amid efforts by European countries to keep alive Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers. Last week, Schallenberg said after a meeting with his German counterpart that he would be taking a "European message" to Tehran.

Tensions have been escalating steadily since 2018 when President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. The Trump administration reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran as part of its "maximum pressure campaign" on the Islamic republic.

Iran since has begun breaking terms of the 2015 deal limiting its enrichment of uranium. The remaining signatories - the European trio of Germany, France and Britain, plus Russia and China - have been trying to keep the deal afloat. While Austria is not part of the agreement, the deal was negotiated in large part in Vienna.

Schellenberg's visit also occurs at a time of an outbreak in the country of the new virus originating from China. Before receiving the Austrian delegation, Zarif joked with journalists saying, "I have to shake hands with them. Don't worry, I don't have coronavirus."Also in early February, Josep Borrell, EU Foreign Policy Chief travelled to Iran and held talks with senior Iranian officials.

Credits: Twitter