In an interview published in Iranian reformist newspaper Etemad on Monday 5 March, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the Europeans had violated the nuclear agreement with his country.
"At the current time, two groups have violated the nuclear agreement: the United States and the Europeans. The Americans, because of Washington's policy, and the Europeans, because of the policy of the USA, have not been able to keep their commitments, particularly in the area of banking. Consequently, these two groups are not in a position to be able to set conditions for the country (Ed: Iran) which has fully implemented its commitments", he said.
"To keep the USA in the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, the European countries have hit extremism, and this will damage Europe's policy at the end of the day", he said. "Any action to indulge the party that has most violated the nuclear agreement is useless", he added.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to leave the nuclear agreement on 12 May if the "terrible" shortcomings in the text are not overcome (see EUROPE 11939). According to a European source, the international consultations on the nuclear agreement continue. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)