On Wednesday 30 April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini seemed cautious about the statements of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding a secret Iranian nuclear programme.
"What I have seen from the first reports is that Prime Minister Netanyahu has not put into question Iran's compliance with the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] commitments, meaning post-2015 nuclear commitments", Mogherini told press. She nevertheless stated that she would study the details of the statement and see the assessment of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"The nuclear agreement is not based on assumptions of good faith or trust – it is based on concrete commitments, verification mechanisms and a very strict monitoring of facts, done by the IAEA", she added, saying that the IAEA had published ten reports, certifying that Iran had fully complied with its commitments.
On Tuesday 1 May, the IAEA said there were "no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009".
Mogherini also attacked the Israeli prime minister's way of communication. "In any case, if any party and if any country has information of non-compliance, of any kind, it can and should address (..) this information to the proper, legitimate, recognised mechanisms, the IAEA and the Joint Commission [of the JCPOA] for the monitoring of the nuclear deal", she said, before adding that there were mechanisms in place to respond to possible concerns.
Netanyahu's intervention comes a few days after the visits to Washington of France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to try and convince US President Donald Trump to stay in the Iranian nuclear agreement. Trump has until 12 May to announce whether or not he will maintain the suspension of US sanctions. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)