In a blow to the US, European countries express strong support for Iran nuclear deal

After holding bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart on the future of JCPOA, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his European counterparts in Brussels to discuss the same issue. As stated by the both sides, all parties of the nuclear deal are unified on the necessity of preserving it against any possible violation.

کد خبر: ۷۶۳۶۲۸

تاریخ: ۲۱ دی ۱۳۹۶ - ۲۰:۰۶

Tabnak – After holding bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart on the future of JCPOA, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his European counterparts in Brussels to discuss the same issue. As stated by the both sides, all parties of the nuclear deal are unified on the necessity of preserving it against any possible violation.

According to Zarif, there was solid consensus on the need for preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in a meeting he had with the European Union’s diplomatic chief and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany on Thursday.

“Strong consensus in Brussels today,” Zarif said in a Twitter post after the meeting. Iran is complying with the JCPOA and the Iranian people have every right to all its dividends, he added.

The Iranian top diplomat also reiterated that any move that undermines JCPOA is unacceptable and that the “E3 and EU (are) fully aware that Iran’s continued compliance (is) conditioned on full compliance by the US.”

The European officials who attended the meeting also underlined support for preserving the Iran nuclear deal. In this vein, the European Union's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini insisted the Iran nuclear deal "is working", adding that it is vital to preserve the agreement.

"The deal is working, it is delivering on its main goal which means keeping the Iranian nuclear program in check and under close surveillance," Mogherini said after talks in Brussels.

At the same time, while hawks in Washington have called for the agreement to be scrapped, British foreign minister Boris Johnson said that so far no-one has come up with a better alternative.

"We greatly value the JCPOA, the nuclear deal with Iran, we think it is a considerable diplomatic accomplishment,” Johnson said, stressing that "Iran is in compliance with this agreement according to the International Atomic Energy Agency."

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel was another European official who expressed support of the deal, saying that Europe wanted to protect the deal "against every possible undermining decision".

"We know that it's absolutely necessary to have the signal that it's possible by diplomatic approaches to prevent the development of nuclear weapons, in a time when other parts of the world are discussing how to get nuclear weapons into force," Gabriel said.

France’s top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian also noted, “The accord is essential and there is no alternative."

Before flying to Brussels, Zarif met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Wednesday, lauding Russia’s role in the conclusion and implementation of the JCPOA. Zarif said Iran, Russia and other parties to the deal needed to closely coordinate efforts to make sure that the implementation of the accord was seriously pursued.

It should be noted that while the JCPOA is solely about Iran’s nuclear program, the US President Donald Trump’s administration claims that Tehran’s growing regional influence and achievements in its conventional missile program violate the “spirit” of the nuclear deal.

Iran and the other signatories to JCPOA have warned against the adverse consequences of a possible US move to step away from the landmark nuclear deal, saying it would be counterproductive.