Borrell Focuses on Europeans to Save JCPOA

EghtesadOnline: The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he will try to ensure Iran's economic interests under the 2015 nuclear deal through European initiatives rather than convincing the United States to change its policies.

News ID: ۷۴۹۷۳۲

19 February 2020

Iran has not been enjoying the benefits promised under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, since the US unilaterally pulled out and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, according to Financial Tribune.

European parties have been trying to guarantee those interests through initiatives, such as the mechanism called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges), but their efforts have not borne fruit yet.

Speaking during the Munich Security Conference held on Feb. 14-16, Borrell said that as coordinator, he has no duty to work on American policies because the US has exited the deal, but he will instead try to focus on Europe that is in favor of keeping the JCPOA alive to solve the problems through INSTEX, the Persian version of Euronews reported.

INSTEX aims to facilitate Iran-EU trade through a non-dollar system and by circumventing US sanctions.

The EU foreign policy chief stressed that JCPOA is not only about Iran's nuclear commitments, but also includes the other signatories' economic commitments toward Iran.

"We Europeans need to accept the fact that we have not been successful in implementing our commitments," he said.

Iran remained in full compliance for over a year, calling on Europeans to fulfill their commitments, but was eventually forced to step away from its JCPOA obligations.

It, however, announced that all steps are reversible, if its economic concerns are addressed.