On Monday 19 March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said there were no sanctions being prepared for Iran over its destabilising role in the region and its ballistic missile programme.
"We did not discuss additional sanctions", Mogherini stated at the end of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. "It is of major importance that Iran continues to fully implement the agreement (...) but also to keep our American friends fully engaged in the agreement", combined with the fact that the Europeans want to discuss other issues "which are not within the agreement" with Iran, such as its regional role or its ballistic missile programme, she added, at at time when the US president might not prolong the exemption from sanctions any further.
In Mogherini's view, "it is extremely important to keep the nuclear agreement separate" from regional and ballistic missile issues. She said, for example, that the EU was having a high level political dialogue with Iran, during which the situation in Yemen was discussed.
However, according to a European source, France, the UK and Germany have proposed new measures against Tehran, for its support to the Syrian regime and its ballistic missile programme. The confidential document containing the proposals is reported to have been sent to the European capitals on Friday 16 March, according to news agency Reuters.
Before the meeting, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the Europeans could not "exclude Iran's responsibility in the proliferation of ballistic missiles, nor its highly debatable role in the Middle East". He also said that this should "be discussed to reach a common position". According to Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, Europeans should "examine all the measures possible for putting pressure on Iran", be this regarding its ballistic missile programme or its role in the region.
On Friday 16 March, a European source said that in order to persuade the US administration to keep the nuclear agreement, Iran should show willingness on the ballistic missiles and its regional role, and that this willingness could be encouraged through EU restrictive measures (see EUROPE 11983). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)