The European Union reiterated on Tuesday its support for the nuclear deal with Iran and its implementation at a meeting in Brussels with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a few hours before President Donald Trump announced he would be pulling the US out of the agreement.
The representatives of the three European signatories to the agreement (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) and the assistant of the head of European diplomacy, Helga Schmid, “took this opportunity to reiterate their support for the continuation of the implementation of the Joint Action Plan (JCPOA) by all parties,” the joint statement said.
“We will respect the agreement and we will do everything to keep Iran in compliance with its obligations,” Angela Merkel said the day after US President Donald Trump’s decision to end the deal believing that it fails to adequately prevent Tehran from seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
The Chancellor insisted that the text is “a pillar that should not have been challenged” by Donald Trump, with whom she has difficult relations.
Earlier, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanded that Europeans give Iran “real guarantees” to allow it to stay in the Vienna agreement.
“Now, we say we want to continue the nuclear agreement with the three European countries, (but) I do not trust these three countries (…) You want to conclude an agreement, get real guarantees, because tomorrow they will do the same thing that the United States did, “Khamenei said in a speech broadcast by Iran’s state television.
The reinstatement of US sanctions puts European governments and industries in a difficult situation.
Indeed, European companies that continue to trade with Tehran could be exposed to American sanctions, thereby reducing the room for diplomatic maneuver in Paris, London and Berlin.
