EU scrambles to keep Iran deal alive

‘LIMITED OPPORTUNITY’ Tehran tells Europe to clarify its position and ‘specify and announce its intentions’

US President Donald Trump didn’t kill the Iran nuclear deal. He just shrank its membership by one.

That was the line taken by the European Union after Trump announced his withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday vowed that Germany, France and Britain will “do everything” to ensure that Iran remains in the nuclear deal.

“We will remain committed to this agreement and will do everything to ensure that Iran complies with the deal,” Merkel said, adding that Berlin had made the decision jointly with Paris and London.

Britain called on the US to spell out its vision of a new negotiated settlement with Iran.

“Now that the Trump administration has left the JCPOA, the responsibility falls on them to describe how they in Washington will build a new negotiated solution to our shared concerns,” foreign secretary Boris Johnson told Parliament.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he wants to see them deliver.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told French President Emmanuel Macron that Europe has a “limited opportunity” to preserve the nuclear deal.

“Under the current conditions, Europe has a very limited opportunity to preserve the nuclear deal, and must, as quickly as possible, clarify its position and specify and announce its intentions with regard to its obligations,” ISNA-news agency quoted Rouhani as telling Macron in a phone call.

But it’s not clear whether the EU, China and Russia will be able to ensure Iran receives the promised economic benefits — including free access to international oil markets and accelerating flows of trade and investment — that persuaded Tehran to sign up to an agreement capping its nuclear programme.

The exit throws billions of dollars of European investments that had been planned into disarray.

Russia said late on Tuesday it was “deeply disappointed” by the US decision to pull out of the deal, and ready to work with other parties to keep it alive. China urged all parties involved to continue efforts to implement the agreement.

New Delhi too expressed its disappointment over Trump’s decision — Iran is one of India’s top oil suppliers.

An official statement released by the external affairs ministry stated: “India has always maintained that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy by respecting Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as also the international community’s strong interest in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. All parties should engage constructively to address and resolve issues that have arises with respect to the JCPOA.”