The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the Foreign Ministers of the E3 countries (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) urged Iran on Thursday 9 May, to respect its commitments under the nuclear deal (see EUROPE 12250/16).
Underlining their “great concern” about Iran's statement of the previous day, the High Representative and the Ministers call on Iran, in a joint statement, to “continue to implement its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in full as it has done until now and to refrain from any escalatory steps”.
“We reject any ultimatum”, they warned, referring to the 60 days Tehran says they have to implement their promises to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors from US sanctions. However, they remain determined to continue their efforts to allow legitimate trade with Iran to continue, including through the operationalisation of INSTEX.
“We also look to Iran to continue to adhere to established JCPOA formats and mechanisms including the JCPOA Joint Commission," Ms Mogherini and the Ministers added.
The Europeans also announced that they will assess Iran's compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and reiterated the essential role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in this verification.
Despite the Iranian announcement, which follows the US decisions, Europeans recalled that they, for their part, remain fully committed to the preservation and full implementation of the Joint Action Plan, "a key achievement of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, which is in the security interest of all”.
The High Representative and Ministers also call on countries not party to the JCPOA to refrain from taking any actions that impede the remaining parties’ ability to fully perform their commitments. and underline their regret at the new US sanctions. US President Donald Trump announced, just after the Iranian decision, new sanctions on Iran’s iron, aluminium and copper sectors.
Iran invites itself to the Sibiu summit
According to a European source, the High Representative took advantage of the presence of the Heads of State or Government at the Sibiu Summit to inform them of the situation.
Upon their arrival, several of them expressed their concerns. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Lithuanian counterpart Dalia Grybauskaitė were worried. “The deal has to be saved. It is a good deal, a fair deal”, explained the former, when the latter said it was necessary to see what Europe could do. “If Iran withdraws totally [from the plan], we will be back at the situation we had a few years ago”, warned Ms Grybauskaitė.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for diplomacy. "We know our limits, but if Europe speaks with one voice, we will have a better chance of finding solutions," she told the press after the summit.
While wishing, like his Foreign Minister, that Iran would remain in the agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron once again called for the agreement to be strengthened to take into account the post-2025 situation, Iran's ballistic activities and its activities in the region. "Under no circumstances would the dismantling of the agreement allow us to move in this direction”, he stressed. The President also considered it "wrong” to say that Europeans were "powerless”, judging in particular that, if Tehran was still in the agreement even after the American withdrawal, it was because of European measures. Mr Macron also called for the euro to become a real alternative currency to the dollar. "The day we do that, no European company or bank will be afraid to go and trade in Iran" without risking American extraterritorial sanctions, he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, with Mathieu Bion)