News analysis: Analyst says EU eyes cooperation with Iran after nuke deal

As the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini embarked on a visit to Iran, a European analyst said that the visit was about to begin the important task of seeking EU-Iran cooperation after the nuclear deal.

Cornelius Adebahr, an associate fellow at Alfred von Oppenheim-Center for European Studies of the German Council on Foreign Relations, told Xinhua that the significance of Mogherini's visit to Tehran is two-fold.

It would be to "sell the deal" to those in Iran who were skeptical of it and to begin the important task of seeking cooperation beyond the nuclear deal, he said in an interview ahead of Mogherini's visit.

Adebahr said that the first point highlighted the fact that, unlike in Europe, there was a lively domestic debate in Iran about the merits of the agreement, as was the case in the United States.

"Hardliners who fear a sellout of the country to the west will have to be convinced that this compromise is in the country's best interest. Certainly, the EU High Representative as the lead negotiator of the international community can contribute to this," he said.

Moreover, together with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, Mogherini can begin exploring opportunities to extend the current level of cooperation on the nuclear issue between Iran and the world powers to the regional sphere, tackling the "very conventional threats that the Middle East in general and the Persian Gulf area in particular is plagued with," he said.

"This is also the way in which the nuclear deal could affect the EU's Middle East strategy: It should give it a sense of purpose," he said when asked to comment on the visit's significance in terms of EU's Middle East strategy.

In light of the success of the European "effective multilateralism" approach demonstrated over the nuclear deal and a good working relation with Iran and the world powers, the EU should feel comfortable enough to make an initiative to include Iran in regional conflict management, said Adebahr.

This would range from technical arrangements to prevent future conflicts, such as an agreement on maritime security in the Persian Gulf, to the actual resolution of conflicts such as in Yemen or Syria, he said.

At a joint press conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif during the visit, Mogherini said the implementation of the latest nuclear deal will open new chapter in the economic, and political relations between Iran and the EU.

The visit of Mogherini, which followed her visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, comes after Iran and the world major powers signed a nuclear agreement in the Austrian capital Vienna on July 14, which will relieve Iran's sanctions in exchange for stricter limits on its nuclear program. Endit