This meeting was part of the regular exchanges agreed by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and the Foreign Minister of Iran, Javad Zarif. The two delegations were headed by EEAS Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid and by the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, and included representatives from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other departments in the Iranian administration, and EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis as well as services from the European Commission, including Director General for Development Cooperation Stefano Manservisi and Director General for Energy Dominique Ristori.

The agenda included discussions on bilateral issues, ranging from trade, energy, environment, migration, humanitarian issues, drug policy, education, culture, research and transport, as well as on regional issues, notably Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Afghanistan. In parallel discussions on human rights were held, as a continuation of a first exploratory meeting held in November last year. These talks form an integral part of EU-Iran political dialogue.

EEAS Secretary General Schmid will also attend the second EU-Iran High-Level Seminar on International Nuclear Cooperation taking place in Isfahan on 21 November, which focuses on aspects of civil nuclear cooperation following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.