Emergency talks in Brussels about Iranian situation
6802 Mins Read
Foreign ministers from France, Germany and the UK were to meet the EU in Brussels later on Monday to discuss Iran’s recent threat to breach commitments of the 2015 nuclear deal. They will also be discussing the situation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The three ministers and the EU High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini will discuss their response to Iran’s announcement last week that it intended to abandon commitments to the agreement.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Photo: EPA-EFE/NOUFAL IBRAHIM
Pompeo cancelled the Moscow leg of his Russia trip, but will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as planned on Tuesday.
The ministers will consider further response to Iranian threats and discuss progress on their efforts to enable trade to continue with Iran.
The ministers said they remain committed to trade with Tehran if it upheld its commitments in the nuclear deal.
In the agreement, which was signed in 2015, Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear ambitions and refrain from developing ballistic missiles in return for a lifting of sanctions.
But US President Donald Trump withdrew from the treaty last year.
Announcing the partial withdrawal on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he would give other signatories of the agreement 60 days to return to negotiating financial and oil deals.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani Photo: EPA-EFE/IRANIAN PRESIDENCY OFFICE
On Thursday, the European signatories of the deal issued a joint statement rejecting Mr Rouhani’s deadline and urging Iran to reconsider its decision to withdraw from some elements.
“We reject any ultimatums and we will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the statement by Ms Mogherini and the three foreign ministers said.
Before an EU summit in Romania on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the nuclear deal must be saved and that the accord’s signatories should do all they can to ensure Iran respects it.
The European signatories said they regretted the decision by the US to reimpose sanctions on Iran on Wednesday.
Via Reuters
