EU tries to find common ground to keep Iran Nuclear Deal alive

World Today

Iran’s Foreign Minister completed a day of talks in Brussels to consolidate European backing for the nuclear deal.

This was the final leg of a global tour which took him to China and Russia before Europe.

It was all in an attempt to rally diplomatic support and secure guarantees to maintain the nuclear agreement with Iran.

CGTN’S Jack Parrock reports.

All sides expressed a desire and good will to save the Iran nuclear deal, yet the Europeans still did not give Iran any guarantees. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said there was a need to find a quick solution. To that end, the so-called E-3, Germany, France and the U.K., will meet with Iranian officials over the coming two weeks.

“We reaffirmed together or resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith and in a constructive atmosphere, and we agreed to continue to consult intensively at all levels and also with other remaining participants to the joint commission to the JCPOA,” Mogherini said.

Iranian foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, attending these Brussels meetings after a tour of Moscow and Beijing, where he’d received similar assurances from China and Russia, as signatories, said they’ll work to uphold the deal.

“We are going to see whether the political will that has been expressed by the remaining participants in JCPOA can be translated into specific action,” Zarif said.

President Donald Trump didn’t only announce the U.S. is pulling out of the accord and reimposing sanctions on Tehran, but also that businesses that continue their operations in Iran will also face sanctions.

Trump pulled out because the deal didn’t look at leverage and the sanctions threat against Iran’s regional influence, especially in countries like Syria and Yemen.

The Europeans say the Iran deal provides more chances to open avenues for discussion with Iran on other issues, but Iran doesn’t seem open to negotiations on that which could hinder progress in the coming weeks. What Iran does want is for the five countries remaining in the deal and the EU to find some way of compensating for the U.S. pull-out and its effects on the Iranian economy.

Keeping this deal alive is going to take a major diplomatic effort over the next couple of weeks.