MNA � The head of Iran�s Foreign Policy Strategic Council Kamal Kharrazi said Tue. that despite the EU�s promise to set up a trade mechanism with Iran to facilitate trade in the face of US sanctions, Iran still needs to rely on itself to ensure national interests.

Kharrazi maintained that Iran and Europe each have their own separate interests, adding �of course, this does not mean that we should not negotiate with them. Negotiations must definitely be held.�

�If Europeans have stayed in the nuclear deal and are opposed to the US� withdrawal from the agreement, it is in line with their own interests, not that they wish to have a confrontation with the US to ensure the Iranians� interests,� he added.

He said negotiations with the EU is a way to neutralize the US� plots concerning the 2015 nuclear agreement signed between Iran and other parties, adding �we need to cooperate with Europe as much as possible. This, of course, depends on how much the Europeans can cooperate with us in this framework.�

He said preserving the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, is currently the common goal of Iran and the European Union.