The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, urged on Monday 13 May, to avoid any escalation in the Iranian nuclear issue.
Tehran announced on 8 May, that it would suspend some of Iran’s commitments (see EUROPE 12250/16), a decision followed by the announcement of new US sanctions and the sending of an American aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and a warship carrying amphibious vehicles and a Patriot missile battery to the region.
The Europeans received a surprise visit from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his way to Russia. According to the State Department, the objective was to “continue to coordinate closely with our allies and partners to ensure the security of our mutual interests in the Middle East and around the world”. Mr Pompeo met separately with the E3 Foreign Ministers (Germany, United Kingdom and France) and then with the High Representative.
“We are living in a crucial, delicate moment when the most relevant, responsible attitude to take is max restrain and avoid any escalation on the military side”, Ms Mogherini stressed at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council. Already, upon her arrival at the EU Council, she had recalled that dialogue was “the only and best way to resolve disputes and to avoid escalation in the region, where the situation is already tense enough”.
The European ministers also expressed their concern about the tensions and called for the agreement to be preserved. “We are very concerned about a conflict, about the risk of a conflict happening by accident with an escalation that is unintended”, said British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt. On the other hand, he said, it is necessary to have a period of calm to allow each side to understand what the other side is thinking and to “make sure that we don’t end up putting Iran back on the path to re-nuclearisation”.
“We do not want to reach a military conflict”, added his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, who recalled that, while European and American views on the agreement were different, the objectives were the same on Iran's non-nuclearisation and on a different role for the country in the region.
Same for the Dutchman Stef Blok, who said that if Europeans shared American concerns about Iran's negative role in many areas, the nuclear deal existed and that, as long as Iran respected it, Europeans would do the same.
In the margins of the meeting, E3 Ministers and the High Representative met to discuss the implementation of European commitments, including the financial transaction mechanism, INSTEX. According to Ms Mogherini, INSTEX could become operational in the coming weeks (see EUROPE 12241/2). The Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, announced that his country was considering taking part in this. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)