On Tuesday 17 October, the EU Council decided to take the necessary steps to maintain the restrictive measures provided for under the EU’s non-proliferation regime with regard to Iran.
The EU Council considered that there were valid reasons for not lifting these restrictions on the day of transition (18 October 2023), as initially provided for in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).
“The Council’s decision is in line with the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the JCPoA, in view of Iran not fulfilling its commitments under the JCPoA, as reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019,” said the EU Council in its statement.
Specifically, the EU Council adopted legal acts to maintain the designations, which had initially been imposed by the United Nations for individuals and entities involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities or affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It also decided to maintain the sectoral and individual measures set out in the EU sanctions regime, notably those linked to Iran’s nuclear proliferation, as well as the arms and missile embargoes.
On 14 September, in a letter to the EU High Representative as coordinator of the JCPoA Joint Commission, France, Germany and the UK warned that in “direct response to Iran’s continued serious non-compliance with its JCPoA commitments since 2019”, they intended to “maintain measures related to nuclear proliferation against Iran, as well as arms and nuclear embargoes against Iran, as well as arms and missile embargoes”, after the day of transition (see EUROPE 13251/6). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)