EU's Borrell extends timeline for dispute mechanism on Iran deal

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday he had extended the time available to discuss ways to save the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran under a dispute mechanism triggered by France, Germany, and Britain. "There is an agreement that more time is needed due to the complexity of the issues involved. The timeline is therefore extended," Borrell said in a statement.

On Jan. 14 Borrell was notified by Paris, London, and Berlin that they had triggered the dispute mechanism, in theory starting a 15-day process to resolve issues with Iran. However, in practice it is not clear when the 15-day period should start because Iran has not formally recognized the consultation process, officials have said. Borrell said the joint commission that regulates the Iran nuclear deal will meet in February but did not give a date.