The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy called on Iran to halt activities that do not comply with commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).
“Iran has stated that it wants to remain within the JCPoA. It must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPoA compliance without delay”, they argued in a joint statement. On the previous day, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Tehran had begun to enrich its uranium beyond the limit authorized by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, namely 3.67%. Iran announced on Monday 8 July that it has achieved an enrichment of 4.5%.
The Europeans also called for a joint commission to be convened “urgently”.
The spokeswoman of the European External Action Service, Maja Kocijancic, announced on the same day that the EU was in contact with both the members of the agreement “as regards the next steps under the terms of the agreement” and with the Iranians. For its part, France sent the President’s diplomatic adviser to try to “assemble the elements of a de-escalation”.
In addition, the ministers and the High Representative urged “all parties to act responsibly towards deescalating ongoing tensions regarding Iran's nuclear activities”.
The situation will be discussed at the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council on 15 July. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)