Zarif on world tour to save nuke deal

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif embarked on a tour of world powers on Saturday, in a last-ditch effort to save Tehran’s nuclear deal.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal on Tuesday, upsetting European allies and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies.

Iran said it would remain committed to the deal without Washington if Tehran achieved its goals – namely being protected from sanctions against key sectors of its economy such as oil – in cooperation with other countries that have signed up to the agreement.

President Hassan Rouhani said he had asked Zarif to negotiate with European countries, China and Russia in the coming weeks. “If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain,” he said.

Zarif was due to leave for Beijing on Saturday and will later travel to Russia. He will then go to Brussels to meet with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France “about the fate of the nuclear deal,” Iranian state television said.

“Iran has asked the European Union and particularly Germany, France and Britain to announce as soon as possible their stand on how Iran’s interests can be fulfilled and guaranteed under the nuclear agreement after America’s withdrawal,” the TV report said.

Europe’s largest economies lobbied on Friday to protect their companies’ investments in Iran, seeking to keep the nuclear deal alive after Washington pulled out and threatened to impose sanctions on European companies.

Germany and France have significant trade links with Iran and remain committed to the nuclear agreement, as does Britain, and the three countries’ foreign ministers plan to meet on Tuesday to discuss it.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Trump agreed in a phone call on Friday that talks were needed to discuss how US sanctions on Iran would affect foreign companies operating in the country.

“The prime minister raised the potential impact of US sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran,” her spokeswoman said. “They agreed for talks to take place between our teams.”

The spokeswoman said May had told Trump that Britain and its European partners remained “firmly committed” to ensuring the deal was upheld as the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The two leaders also condemned last week’s Iranian rocket attacks against Israel.