EU Rejection of US Policies Crucial to JCPOA Survival

“If E3/EU want full implementation of CBMs & enhanced transparency that JCPOA provides, they should reject US #EconomicTerrorism,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet, using the abbreviation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal’s formal name.  

He made the statement following a meeting of the three European parties in which they underscored the need for Iran to “reconsider the actions that are incompatible with its nuclear commitments and to immediately return to full compliance with those commitments”, according to the French Foreign Ministry’s website. 

Iran has reduced its compliance with JCPOA in response to US sanctions reimposed unilaterally after its exit from the deal in 2018 as well as the other parties’ failure to make up for the adverse economic impacts of sanctions. 

Iran has announced, however, that all measures would be reversed once it can enjoy the benefits promised by the deal once again.  

The UK foreign minister stressed in the meeting that the Islamic Republic “must comply with its nuclear commitments and preserve the JCPOA”.

“Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon,” Dominic Raab added, according to Arab News.  

Zarif reiterated Iran’s position, saying the Islamic Republic has never pursued weapons of mass destruction for stronger reasons than JCPOA. 

“Iran rejects nuclear weapons for religious & strategic reasons—far weightier than any ‘deal’,” he said on Twitter.  

Invalid Attempt 

The foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom held the meeting in London on Thursday to discuss the Iranian issue in the context of the US “invalid attempt” to reimpose multilateral sanctions against Iran.

As part of its maximum pressure campaign, Washington has now triggered the return of all UN sanctions on Iran through a so-called snapback mechanism foreseen in JCPOA despite having quit the accord, arguing that it remains a participant based on the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that enshrined the deal. 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said global sanctions on Iran will automatically snap back on Sept. 20, spelling the end of the nuclear deal. 

“The E3 and other nations must wake up to the reality that the nuclear deal is history and should join us in imposing strong sanctions,” he said.

However, a majority of UNSC members, including participants of the nuclear deal, have opposed the move, describing it as invalid and lacking legal grounds.

The European powers reaffirmed during the meeting the importance of their joint efforts to preserve the nuclear agreement under the current circumstances. 

Zarif urged European parties to reject US hostile measures if they wished to save the deal, just as they rejected its previous bid at the United Nations Security Council, which he described as “vandalism”.   

Washington had earlier tried to extend Iran’s arms embargo beyond its expiration in October based on JCPOA, but its resolution was rejected by the UNSC.