Europe should work with Iran to counter US unilateralism

The world faces a myriad of challenges, including economic issues, social crises, the predicament of refugees, xenophobia, terrorism and extremism.

Europe has not been exempt, and has been confronted by these problems almost daily. Over the past two years, US foreign policy has emerged as a new and complicated problem, as America creates new challenges on a variety of fronts in international relations.

We see US complicity in the daily atrocities in Yemen and in the humiliation and gradual perishing of the great nation of Palestine, which has daily inflamed the emotions of one-and-a-half billion Muslims.

We believe the American government has explicitly supported criminal groups like ISIS, who value no human principles, exacerbating the problems of our region.

More broadly, US president Donald Trump’s approach to matters of trade, international treaties and the humiliating manner in which he treats even America’s allies, illustrates how US foreign policy has posed new challenges to the global order.

In brief, the US administration’s policies of unilateralism, racial discrimination, Islamophobia, and the undermining of important international treaties, including the Paris climate accord, are fundamentally incompatible with multilateralism and other sociopolitical norms valued by Europe.

There is another critical matter aggravating transatlantic relations: the Iran nuclear deal. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it was the product of two years of intensive negotiations between Iran and six other countries, including three from Europe.

As an annex to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, this agreement enjoys the approval of the overwhelming majority of the international community and, as part and parcel of international law, imposes certain obligations on all the members of the UN.

Unfortunately, the US, through raising unfounded claims and in complete disregard for its international obligations, has abandoned the nuclear agreement and imposed extraterritorial and unilateral sanctions on Iran and, by extension, other countries.

The US is, in effect, threatening states who seek to abide by Resolution 2231 with punitive measures. This constitutes a mockery of international decisions and the blackmailing of responsible parties who seek to uphold them.

The nuclear accord is recognized as a great victory for diplomacy in our time. That is why the EU is working with other nations around the world — with the exception of a very few — to save this great achievement.

Since the US withdrew, we have held constructive talks with the remaining JCPOA participants. Their support has been valuable, but it is essential that the European parties, as well as China and Russia (known as E3+2), present and implement their final proposed package of measures to compensate for and mitigate the effects of America’s newest unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions