Iran’s Foreign Minister on global tour to save nuclear deal

World Today

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif smile during their meeting in Moscow on May 14, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / POOL / MAXIM SHEMETOV)

The RIA state news agency has reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit to Moscow has resulted in a commitment by both nations to save the Iran Nuclear deal.

CGTN’s Jack Parrock reports.
Follow Jack Parrock on Twitter @jackeparrock

The deal was signed back in 2015, and opened Iran back up to foreign investments. But last week, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal, despite the international community insisting Iran has upheld its side of the bargain.

President Trump called the Iranian government a “regime of great terror” and insisted the deal didn’t tackle the issues of Iran’s influence in conflict zones like Syria and Yemen. Officials in Brussels have said those issues should be dealt with outside the deal.

President Donald Trump signs a Presidential Memorandum on the Iran nuclear deal from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

While Zarif visits Brussels, the international community expects a similar show of support for the deal that he saw in Russia and China. The British, German and French foreign ministers will be in attendance, all signatories to the Iran nuclear deal.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, Sunday, May 13, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Pool Photo via AP)

The European Union is still supporting the deal because Iran is deemed to be fulfilling its promises in backing away from its nuclear program. But the E.U. is also supporting its businesses who’ve gone in since the deal was struck. Companies like Renault and Total have been investing in Iran, and European politicians are trying to persuade them to stay.

Meanwhile, President Trump has threatened sanctions against anyone who doesn’t wind down their businesses in Iran. Foreign Minister Zarif is touring the globe in an effort to save the deal, hoping to ring the right bells with politicians. But with U.S. sanctions coming back into force, it’s going to be much tougher to persuade businesses to stay.


Paolo von Schirach discusses business implications with US sanctions on Iran

CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke to Paolo von Schirach about what lies ahead for European businesses in the wake of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Schirach is the president of the Global Policy Institute, a global affairs, research institution in Washington, D.C.