Defending Iran nuclear deal is uniting Russia and the European Union

Tabnak – Discussions about the future of Iran nuclear deal is increasingly making a gap between the US and its European allies. While the US officials has just recently talked of the necessity of reviewing the deal, the Europeans continue to show support for the landmark agreement.

In this vein, a senior member of the European Parliament says the EU strongly supports the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, calling for closer ties with Tehran within the framework of the landmark accord.

David McAllister, who heads the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, made the remarks in a meeting with Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Brussels on Wednesday.

The MEP further described the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a “credible international agreement,” noting that the European Union should enhance its relations with Tehran within the framework of the pact.

The comments come amid US President Donald Trump’s attempts to weaken the agreement. Earlier this month, He extended waivers of economic sanctions on Iran for another 120 days but said he was doing so “for the last time.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov also told TASS on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s statements on the Iran nuclear deal are aimed at blackmailing the European Union.

"It is difficult to consider Trump’s recent statements as anything other than an attempt to blackmail the European participants in the deal," the Russian diplomat said. "They have been holding intensive consultations with each other and Tehran, Iran’s foreign minister has been here," he added.

At the same time, Chizhov stressed that Moscow did not see any reason for amending the JCPOA. "The IAEA is the one to verify the implementation of the document," he said, noting that "they [IAEA officials] have said many times that Iran has been abiding by the terms of the deal." The Russian envoy also said that Moscow had been maintaining dialogue with all the participants of the deal.

In an analysis of the situation, The Boston Globe writes that “The United States obviously can’t impose Trump’s new demands [about amending the deal] unilaterally. And there’s absolutely no reason to believe the other parties to the pact will embrace them; they think, correctly, that the agreement is working.”

The paper further notes that even if Trump does withdraw the United States from the pact and re-impose sanctions, absent the other countries following suit, that solo action would be unlikely to force Iran to accept new terms.