Europe is continuing its firm response to Donald Trump’s denunciation of the Iran nuclear deal, with all 28 European Union foreign ministers backing the accord in a joint statement on Monday.
At a summit in Luxembourg, the ministers said, “At a time of acute nuclear threat, the EU is determined to preserve the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] as a key pillar of the international nonproliferation architecture.”
The statement followed a similar declaration on Sunday by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and yesterday’s address by the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (pictured).
Trump issued a sweeping denunciation of the Islamic Republic last week, as he decertified Iranian compliance — despite repeated statements to the contrary by the International Atomic Energy Agency, European powers, and his own State Department — with the July 2015 accord with the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany).
Trump was held back by senior advisors from withdrawal from the deal, instead passing the issue to Congress to decide upon reimposition of sweeping sanctions within 60 days. Specific restrictions were announced against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and the speech pointed to a US effort to renegotiate the JCPOA to include Iranian ballistic missile development and extention of 10- to 15-year terms for the clauses.
Iran has ruled out any renegotiation, a position echoed by France as well as China and Russia.
“An Internal US Process”
The EU foreign ministers tried to detach Trump’s statement from the international nature of the accord, saying they consider his announcement “as being in the context of an internal US process”. They emphasized the IAEA’s verification on eight occasions that Iran “is implementing all its nuclear related commitments following a comprehensive and strict monitoring system.”
Pointing not only at the possibility of Congressional renewal of sanctions but at the restrictions that the US has not lifted despite implementation of the JCPOA, they said lifting of the barriers “strengthens cooperation and allows for continuous dialogue with Iran”.
Mogherini said she would visit Washington early next month to urge US legislators not to withdraw from the accord.
Some foreign ministers were tougher. Germany’s Sigmar Gabriel said the threatened termination “undermines the credibility of such international treaties”, with Trump dragging the world back to a “military confrontation”
“We must be able to demonstrate that when a nuclear agreement has been concluded that we respect it,” Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said, while Bert Koenders of the Netherlands said that the agreement concerned “the safety of the world” and that he hoped “the US Congress will realize this and take the right decisions.”